Melanie Meets World
by Anasatsia98
Summary: Melanie Strong liked to believe that she understood life and the world. She had her friends by her side and her future planned out. What Melanie didn't realize, was that there was so much to learn and she wasn't even close to understanding the world. This is the story of how Melanie began to understand the world and how the world helped Melanie grow.
1. Prologue

When Shawn Hunter was six-years-old, he knew his life had changed for good.

He had been sitting at his table, coloring a picture that he had drawn for his dad, and everything was going well. The girls were playing jump rope and hopscotch, the boys were playing with the baseballs and basketballs, and his best friend, Cory Matthews, was sitting next to him.

He had been so proud of the picture he was drawing and so focused that he failed to see the figure approach him before it was too late.

"What's this?" He looked up to see a fellow classmate standing in front of him.

"It's a picture I drew for my dad," Shawn smiled as he looked down at the picture, happily. Sure it wasn't a mosaic, but it was one of the best drawings that he had ever done.

The boy noticed how proud Shawn was of the picture he drew and frowned, he didn't like that at all.

"Your picture is stupid!" The boy shouted before he snatched the picture from Shawn's grasped, internally smiling at Shawn's reaction.

Shawn let out a cry and tried to reach for the picture, but the boy held it high above his head.

"Hah! Look at the baby!"

Shawn felt tears well up in his eyes and his lower lip wobbled. This wasn't how he expected his day to go.

"Whatcha gonna do, baby?" The boy teased, "Cry?"

"Hey!"

A loud cry caught Shawn's attention and his head snapped towards the girl who was approaching them. In awe, he watched as the girl threw out her arms and shoved the boy to the ground.

"Leave him alone!" The girl cried, "You're being a meanie, Michael!"

The young girl snatched the paper from Michael's hand before turning to face Shawn, a big grin plastered on her face.

"I'm telling Miss. Kirk!"

It was like he was in a trance. Shawn could hear Michael's threats to tell the teacher but he couldn't stop staring at the girl in front of him. She was so different from all the other girls on the schoolyard. All the other girls would run away from him and Cory, shouting that they had cooties, but she willing stood in front of him.

"Here," She said, staring up at him with her light grey eyes, "My name's Melanie."

Shawn wasn't sure what to say, "I-I'm Shawn Hunter."

Melanie gave a light giggle before holding out his paper for him to take, "Just ignore Michael. He's a big meanie and nobody likes him." She paused and tilted her head, "Also, you're a really good drawer."

Shawn gently grabbed his paper and watched as Melanie skipped back to her seat, her brown hair swinging behind her. Yes, she was definitely interesting... and she was definitely nice.

"Cory," He started once he sat back down into his chair.

"Yeah." His curly haired friend looked up at him.

"You see that girl over there?"

"Yeah."

"I'm going to marry her."


	2. Pilot

Melanie Strong could think of ten things she would rather be doing than sitting in this class:

 _Messing up Shawn's hair and watching it bounce back_

 _Eating her lunch_

 _Hanging out with Cory_

 _Hanging out with Shawn_

 _Hanging out with Cory and Shawn _

_Have Topanga braid her hair_

 _Sleeping_

 _Playing with Morgan_

 _Drinking some Hot Chocolate_

 _Be anywhere but here_

And nowhere on that list was written _learn about Romeo and Juliet_. Melanie groaned and slammed her head on her desk, ignoring the looks she got from the people that surrounded her.

"Miss. Strong," Mr. Feeny called and she looked up, "I would appreciate it if you would not damage my desk."

Trying to keep the bright blush from entering her face, she shot,

"I'm sorry, Mr. Feeny. The scene was just so touching that I couldn't bear to watch it anymore with the fear of tears falling down my cheeks."

Mr. Feeny grunted before turning back to the two students,

"She's dead, Mr. Bornihay. Pick up the knife and kill yourself."

Deciding that she had enough of this play, she picked up her brand new, green eraser and threw it at Cory's head. She loved the current seating. Cory sat in the middle of her and Shawn, giving them a great opportunity to mess with him during class. Not like any of them minded; they all cared little for school.

"Mel…Ow!" Cory whined, catching Shawn's attention.

She ignored him,

"What's the score, Cor?"

"Bottom of the third, two out. Dykstra's on second, Kurk's on first, 3 and 2 to Dalton."

From the corner of her eye, Melanie noticed the approaching grey suit and shifted in her seat to make it look as though she had been paying attention the whole time.

"What's this, Mr. Matthews?" Mr. Feeny asked as he held up Cory's headphone.

Cupping his ear, Cory yelled,

"Huh? What'd you say, Mr. Feeny? You took my hearing aid."

Melanie watched as Mr. Feeny put the headphone in his ear and started to play the radio,

"Smoltz delievers, Dalton swings. Oh, he got a piece of that one. It's a long drive, deep to center. Otis Nixon back, back to the warning track, climbs the wall, and…" But she never got to hear the rest for Mr. Feeny had turned the radio off and wrapped up the headphones.

"Ohh!" Cory groaned.

Melanie slapped her forehead and muttered under her breath,

"Mr. Matthews, Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare's ultimate testament of love between a man and a woman."

A sharp cry of 'Help' caused Melanie to turn her head to the front of the room just in time to see Vanessa pinning Nicholas to the table as she tried to stab him with the plastic knife. Melanie gave a light giggle as Mr. Feeny rushed to the front of the room.

"Ms. Kincaid, thank you! Thank you," He led Vanessa off the desk and back to her seat, "For that, uh, vigorous interpretation."

Placing the radio back onto the table, Mr. Feeny turned back to look at Cory.

"Mr. Matthews, you do not listen to the ballgame in the middle of my class."

"Mr. Feeny, who cares about some guy who killed himself over some dumb girl?" Cory asked as he stood up.

"Wow, Cory," Melanie muttered under her breath, "Nice to know you think of me as a dumb girl."

"Not like I was talking about my best friend, Melanie, in anyway." Cory saved and Melanie laughed.

"The tragedy here, Mr. Matthews, is not about a dumb girl or the boy who kills himself because of her. It's about the all-consuming power of love and the inevitability of its influence on each of our lives." Mr Feeny tried to explain to the eleven-year-old.

"Mr. Feeny," Shawn called as he stood, "I have held affections for Melanie ever since we were Kindergarteners and in no way have I wanted to kill myself because she has not yet returned my affections."

"I don't know, Hunter," Melanie teased as she gave her ponytail a flip, "Maybe I'm just out of your league."

Ignoring them, Cory turned to Mr. Feeny,

"Are you aware that we are all eleven- year- olds?"

"Are you aware that you have detention Friday afternoon?"

"No, actually I did not know that."

~8~

Cory, Shawn, and Melanie sat in the cafeteria, prodding the food that was in front of them. Looking up, Melanie noticed Nicholas sitting in front of them with a brown paper bag. Sniffling, Melanie looked back down at her 'food'.

"What even…?" Melanie asked.

"Well, mine's got fuzz." Shawn stated, disgusted.

"Mine's got lips." Cory poked his again with his fork.

"Maybe you should give it a kiss, Cory." Melanie teased from in between him and Shawn.

"Maybe you should give me a kiss instead, Melanie." Shawn said.

Melanie blinked,

"That was smooth."

"I try, I try."

The three of them looked up when they heard the crinkling of a lunch bag.

"Hey, bag man. Rough life being an only child, huh?" Shawn questioned as Nicholas took out a slice of cake from his lunch bag.

"Yeah. Rougher life being an orphan, which is what I am as of last night." Cory said.

"What happened?" Melanie asked, as she looked up from her 'food'.

"I dumped my family and my family dumped me. It was mutual. They're keeping the house."

"Wow, that's tough. You were together for such a long time. Eleven years, right?" Melanie asked and Cory nodded.

"Well, we're here for you, Cory." Shawn said, patting his arm.

"Thanks. You're my new brothers and sister," Cory announced and Melanie smiled.

"Hey, how about we go to the game Friday night?"

"I thought the game was sold out?" Nicholas asked.

"It is, so we go down early. There's guys with extra tickets."

"Don't you have detention Friday?" Shawn reminded him.

"Don't worry about detention. I can handle Feeny. Feeny loves me." Cory stated and Melanie laughed.

"Feeny hates you." She pointed out.

"Well, it's one of the two. We'll see who's right." Cory said as he got up and walked over to Mr. Feeny.

"Mr. Feeny, may I sit down?"

"I rather you didn't"

"Hates me."

~8~

The next Monday, Melanie, Shawn, Cory, and Nicholas sat in the cafeteria watching Mr. Feeny and the female teacher talk to one another.

"Is she sick?" Melanie asked.

"Two days in a row." Nicholas tilted his head.

"She just doesn't learn." Shawn frowned and looked over at Melanie who was watching them with a confused look.

"Maybe… she's his sister?" Melanie tried to make sense of what was going on.

Melanie, Shawn, and Nicholas watched as Mr. Feeny made his way out of the lunch room with the female teacher; only to stop at their table.

"Confused, Mr. Matthews.?"

"Yes I am, sir."

"As it should be."


	3. On the Fence

"Say you could pick any superhero to be your dad. Who would you choose?" Melanie heard Cory say as she sat down at the table.

"Where were you?" Shawn asked.

"Just went to get a drink."

"Batman, no question," Ellis replied, "Live in a cool cave, borrow the Batmobile."

"He lets Robin hangout with him and play with all his stuff. And Robin's not even his real kids. He's his ward." Shawn pointed out.

"How do you get to be a ward?" Ellis wondered and Melanie laughed.

"Batman? Is he faster than a speeding bullet?" Cory challenged, "I don't think so."

"But what about the Batmobile? Isn't that faster than a speeding bullet?" Melanie questioned as she subconsciously shifted her bag onto her lap.

"Nah. It's not a natural power." Shawn explained and Melanie nodded.

"Is he more powerful than a locomotive?" Cory shook his finger, "Uh-uh. I want Superman."

"Seeing through walls," Shawn shook his head, "You'd never get away with anything."

"Because I'd make a very cool ward." Ellis said and Melanie looked at him.

"We are way past that part in the conversation."

"I'd like to have Superman for a dad." Cory said.

"Superman would be cool. He wouldn't have that weird voice." Melanie agreed and Shawn nodded as he spaced out.

Melanie followed Shawn's gaze and found herself looking at Shawn's 'arch-nemesis', Stuart Minkus. She couldn't exactly remember when Shawn and Minkus became enemies, but what she could remember was that everything was fine between them until Shawn pushed Minkus into the sand. Melanie herself found that Minkus could be a bit annoying at the times when he would brag about his smarts, but he wasn't 'popular' and she guessed that's how he made up for it.

Shawn's story with Minkus, however, was different.

When they were in first grade, Shawn didn't like it when any boy talked to Melanie besides him and Cory. So, when a classmate named Stuart Minkus shows up and decides that he wants to sit next to Melanie during lunch, that didn't go well with Shawn. Yes, Shawn would admit it, he is a possessive guy when it comes to his friends, but this was when he had promised Cory that he was going to marry Melanie and he felt threatened that someone was going to take her away from him. Shawn approached Minkus and proudly looked down at his small form. It had started off as Shawn telling Minkus to 'Leave his future wife alone," but Minkus said that Melanie was going to marry him instead and Shawn pushed him into the sandbox.

Even though five years have passed since that day, Minkus and Shawn still didn't get along. Shawn knew that Minkus could provide Melanie with a life that he could only dream of. I mean, think about it. Minkus was basically royalty compared to Shawn's trailer-park trash.

A plus side to this whole thing, however, was that Melanie didn't have any attraction towards boys yet and Shawn smiled to himself.

"Hey, there's Minkus." Shawn said and he pulled out a squirt gun, shooting Minkus in the head.

"Ow." Minkus continued to read his book.

"Whoa!" Cory exclaimed as he saw Shawn's squirt gun, "The 2000-X Hydro- Saturator!"

"Careful. If Feeny sees this baby on school grounds, he'll shag it, and I'll have to sit out during the water wars." Shawn cautioned as he placed the squirt gun back underneath a table.

"Gentlemen," Ellis announced as he pulled out his squirt gun, "meet the Hydro- Sat 3000-Z."

"The 3000?" Melanie gasped, "That's not even supposed to come out till Christmas."

"I know a guy," Ellis smirked and he shot Minkus in the head.

"You really shouldn't do that." Minkus said as he stood up.

"What, are you gonna melt?" Shawn teased.

"No," Minkus pulled out a giant squirt gun, "I'm going to retaliate."

Melanie watched as Ellis held up his now very small looking squirt gun to Minkus.

"Go ahead…. Make me wet." Minkus threatened.

Ellis's eyes widened and he nervously put his squirt gun down,

"Wise choice."

"Wow, Minkus!" Melanie exclaimed, "That's such a cool squirt gun."

Shawn found Minkus's attitude change sickening as Minkus went from a menacing warrior to a love sick puppy.

"Thank you, my sweet."

Shawn narrowed his eyes and put his arm over Melanie's shoulder, pulling her close.

"Back off, Minkus."

Melanie laughed at the two guys who continuously fought over her. Pushing her braided hair over her shoulder, she turned to Shawn,

"Careful there, Shawnie. He could easily take you down with that squirt gun."

Melanie laughed once again when she noticed the frown that took over Shawn's face once he realized that she was right.

"Ah, who needs one of those," Cory tutted as he got up.

"For your information, a well-placed water balloon can give you just as much splash for your cash."

Melanie and Shawn looked at each other before slowly pulling out their squirt guns. Melanie watched Cory turn around with a newly filled water balloon in his hand only to be met with a horde of squirt guns pointing at him.

"How are ya?" He asked nervously and everyone started firing at him.

"Aah! Ahh! Stop! I'll get one! I promise! Oh, my G—I'll get one! I promise."

"Mr. Feeny," Ellis cried and the students immediately stopped firing and rushed to put their squirt guns away.

Not a minute later, Mr. Feeny walked into the cafeteria and looked at Cory.

"Mr. Matthews… the drinking fountain is not a toy."

Mr. Feeny took a sip from the water fountain before walking off and as soon as he left, Shawn and Melanie collapsed to the floor in laughter.

"Ah, Cory," Melanie said in between laughs, "He really does hate you."

~8~

It was her birthday present from her Uncle John and she hadn't dared to open the package until today. With her newly equipped squirt gun and her rain jacket and boots on, Melanie walked to Cory's house with Shawn, Ellis, and Minkus by her side.

"Water war time, Cory." Shawn announced as they entered Cory's backyard.

"WAR!" Minkus yelled, as he ran in wearing his yellow rain coat.

"Water brings put the beast in Minkus." Melanie said as she wrapped her arm around Minkus's shoulder.

Minkus immediately swooned, and giggled breathlessly as he felt Melanie's arm around him.

"You kids and your water wars. I'd love to join you, but I'm having way too much fun here." Cory said from where he sat painting the fence.

"You're bailing on the water war?" Melanie frowned.

"To paint a fence?" Ellis added.

"You say paint a fence, I say par-ty. And by the way, even if you wanted to, I wouldn't cut you in on this action." Cory replied as he held up his brush.

"Why not?" Shawn asked, offended. "I thought we were friends."

"Yeah, how come you're cutting us out?" Melanie asked as she brushed her side bangs from her face.

"People, people, am I the only one who read the summer reading list?" Minkus asked.

An awkward silence passed before Minkus continued,

"Tom Sawyer?"

Melanie gasped.

"He's sucking us in so we do the work for him." She announced.

"That's right, my love. I knew you were smart." Minkus gushed and Shawn's eyes narrowed.

"Back off, Minkus."

"Guys, who are you gonna listen to, me or the girl with her hair in pigtails?" Cory asked.

"Hey!" Melanie cried, stamping her foot, "I happen to like my pigtails."

"Well, let's see. _My_ girl," Shawn shot a glare at Minkus, "says to play. You say work. We're gonna hang with the girl with pigtails."

"Still not dating you, Hunter." Melanie reminded.

Cory sighed,

"Ok, look, I got seven bucks left after buying my Hydro- Sat, and it's yours if you help me paint the fence."

"I say we hold out for lunch," Melanie told Shawn and the others before turning to Cory, "and that's Mademoiselle Pigtails to you, sir."

~8~

"Ice cream!" Melanie squealed as she saw Cory approach them from house.

"What flavor did you bring us?" Shawn asked as he placed his paintbrush down.

"Vanilla. They're vanilla with chocolate on the outside, just like they've been for 1,000 years!" Cory exclaimed.

"I prefer a Heath Bar Crunch." Minkus said.

"Ya do?!" Cory said sarcastically and he dipped the ice cream bar into the dirt before handing it back to Minkus.

"Here you are, Minkus. Crunch on this."

"Is it just me, or is he copping an attitude?" Minkus asked as he looked at the ruined ice cream bar.

"I'm beginning to feel unwelcomed here." Shawn said and they all got up.

"Water war?" Ellis asked.

"Water war." Melanie agreed and they all started to walk away.

"Hey, come on, come on! I paid you! I brought you sandwiches! I brought you ice cream!" Cory pleaded.

"Yes, you did. Tell your mom we said thank you," Melanie said as she stopped to look at Cory.

"I'm gonna sue you!" Cory yelled.

"Fine. Have your lawyer call my mom!" Melanie responded and she ran to catch up with Shawn, who had waited for her to finish talking to Cory.


	4. Dad Knows Less

"All right, class. Time's up." Mr. Feeny said and Melanie groaned, placing her pencil down,

"Please pass your test papers to the front of your rows."

Turning her head, she stared awkwardly at Shawn's face. They had recently changed seats at school and she was now sitting next to Shawn while Cory sat in front of him. Melanie was exhausted. She hadn't gotten any sleep last night due to the cries of her two-year-old sister, Stephanie. Normally her mom or dad would have gone to quiet Stephanie, but last night it seemed as though they were dead asleep and she had to go and quiet her sister.

"Woah… Mel." She heard Shawn say and her eyes focused on him.

"You look dead."

Melanie groaned again before shoving her face into her arms,

"Not exactly what you should say to the woman you plan on marrying."

It was rare that Melanie brought up Shawn's promise to marry her but when she did, she used it to blackmail him and judging the look on his face, it had worked.

"Mel…" Shawn laughed nervously, "I was just kidding you. You look great. Honestly."

Melanie gave a tired smile,

"I'm just messing with you, Shawnie."

"Mr. Minkus, this test didn't require an essay anwer but how refreshing that you've chosen to include one." Mr. Feeny said as he took the papers from Minkus's desk.

"Ahem," Shawn began, "Suck up."

"Future plumber."

Melanie choked down a laugh as she passed her paper to the front of the room and Shawn shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Feels a C-minus short." Mr. Feeny said as he weighted the test papers in his hand.

"Ah, yes." Mr. Feeny exclaimed as he walked over to where Cory sat sleeping on his desk, "Here we are…"

"Cory," Melanie whispered as Mr. Feeny tried to wiggle the piece of paper out from underneath Cory.

"Huh?" Cory woke with a start, "Is the test over? Did I get an A?"

"Looks like an 'A'" Mr. Feeny said.

"I got an 'A'?!"

"No. 'A' is the only answer you put down before you slipped into the coma."

"So, what did I get?"

"Well, you answered one question out of forty and got it wrong." Mr. Feeny explained, "So what grade do you think I'm going to give you?"

"Can it be found at the beginning of the word 'fajita?"

"Si, Senor."

"Come on, Mr. Feeny." Cory whined. "I was up till after midnight."

"Oh, and what earth-shattering event kept you up till that time of night?" Mr. Feeny inquired.

"A no-hitter."

Melanie and Shawn gasped.

"You got to stay up and watch the game?" Shawn asked and Cory smiled,

"With my dad."

"That's so cool." Melanie muttered.

"Ah, baseball. Silly me." Mr. Feeny said as he walked back to his desk. "I thought you would've stayed up for something frivolous, like the announcement from Stockholm of Noble Prizes."

"Biophysics—Dr. Ira Soochek, Medicine—Dr. Lin Yi Pao, Economics—Professor Narwhal Fowab." Minkus recited. "And I'm as fresh as a daisy."

"Teacher's pet." Shawn deadpanned.

"Go fix a sink."

~8~

Melanie walked down the sidewalk on her way home. She was tired and her bag was too heavy. Not only that, but her mom had just informed her that she would be home alone until eight because they were going to be eating out with her father's business partners.

"Hey! Melanie!" She heard someone call and she turned around.

"Shawn? What are you doing?"

"I noticed that you were walking home alone and you never do that. You always walk home with that friend of yours. You know, the one with the curly hair."

"You mean Topanga?" Melanie asked and Shawn nodded.

"She went home early. She had a doctor's appointment."

They two continued down the sidewalk for a while in a comfortable silence.

"So, can I help you with anything?" Melanie asked as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

"Just wanted to make sure that my girl got home safely."

"Whatever, Shawnie." Melanie rolled her eyes but still smiled.

As they arrived at Melanie's house, Melanie ran to the door before stopping and turning to Shawn.

"Thank you, Shawn."

"Anytime."

Melanie gave one last smile before she slipped through the open door. Yeah, she could get used to that.


	5. Cory's Alternative Friends

"In conclusion, some products we use every day causes algae to grow in lakes." Barbara said as she poured a white liquid into a water-filled beaker.

"Cutting off oxygen and disrupting the ecosystem." Paige dropped a dead fish into the liquid.

"So, what we've learned is that we must choose biodegradable products to help protect our environment." Barbara concluded and Paige took out the fish's skeleton.

"Excellent report." Feeny praised, "Inspired visuals. Next team."

"Good luck." Melanie whispered as Shawn and Cory went up to the front.

"How air pollution affects our everyday life." Cory started.

"Excellent topic."

Melanie gave a small laugh as Shawn and Cory simultaneously opened their pointers.

"Denver," Shawn began as he slapped his pointer to New Mexico and Mr. Feeny fixed it, "High atop the majestic Rocky Mountains. Elevation—5,000 feet."

"Philadelphia," Cory continued as he slapped his pointer to Iowa and again, Mr. Feeny fixed it, "Lying low in the Delaware basin."

"Denver—clean crisp mountain air."

"Philadelphia—polluted industrial smog."

"Mile High Stadium—home of the Colorado Rockies."

"Veterans Stadium—home of the Philadelphia Phillies."

"Oh, here we go." Mr. Feeny sighed.

Melanie her eyebrow as Shawn and Cory leaned on Mr. Feeny's desk.

"The Rockies, a bogus expansion team mind you, are averaging four more runs per game than anyone in the league because of their clean air." Shawn said.

"Our theory is, if Philadelphia would clean up its smog air the ball would slice through the atmosphere with a greater velocity." Cory stated.

"Therefore the Phillies would score more runs."

"And win every home game."

"The end." Shawn and Cory simultaneously closed their pointers.

"So, how'd you like our report?" Cory asked.

"Stinks."

"Stinks," Cory told Shawn before turning back to Mr. Feeny, "How'd you like my half?"

"Relax, Mr. Matthews. I blame myself." Mr. Feeny said as he got up.

"You do? Cool." Cory exclaimed as he and Shawn walked back to their desks.

"Yes," Mr. Feeny sighed, "I let you choose your own partner. An astounding lapse of judgment for someone of my experience."

Mr. Feeny looked at the papers on his table,

"I'm going to let you try again but this time, I'll choose the teams."

Mr. Feeny paused,

"Mr. Hunter, you'll work with… Miss. Strong."

"Nice."

"Yes." Melanie and Shawn said together as they high-fived.

"And Mr. Matthews-"

"Yeah, I'll hook up with Mr. Sullivan." Cory cut Mr. Feeny off.

"No, no." Mr. Feeny said, "That's worse. You'll be working with… Miss. Lawrence."

"Topanga?" Cory asked, shocked.

Melanie watched Topanga turn around,

"Give me your hand."

"Why?" Cory questioned.

"I want to see if our energies converge."

"Ooooh." Shawn said as he acted like a ghost.

"Knock it off, Shawn." Melanie said, elbowing Shawn lightly in the side.

Melanie turned to see Topanga give her a nod before she turned back to Mr. Feeny,

"He's vibrationally acceptable."

"Thanks." Cory responded sarcastically as he got up and walked over to Mr. Feeny.

"Uh, Mr. Feeny, may I approach the bench?"

"Objection, Mr. Matthews?"

"Can you be swayed on this?"

"I'm Gibraltar."

"Come on, Mr. Feeny," Cory groaned, "Why does Shawn get to work with Melanie and I have to work with Topanga. She's, like, totally strange."

"Mr. Matthews," Mr. Feeny began, "I believe that Miss. Strong is fully capable of making sure that she and Mr. Hunter do well on their project. As for strange, Mr. Matthews. Strange is in the eye of the beholder. I, for example, have a young neighbor who sings along to his little sister's Barney records."

"You hear that?" Cory blushed.

~8~

"What do you think of my hair?" Cory asked and Melanie looked up from her lunch.

"Guys don't ask guys that question." Shawn said.

"Fine. Mel, would this," Cory gestured to his hair, "qualify as a Brillo head."

"Nah." Melanie said, shaking her head.

Shawn reached over her and felt Cory's hair.

"You're more like a Nerf head."

"You knew this, and you didn't tell me?"

"Cory," Melanie began, "You got curly hair. What's the deal?"

"Yeah," Shawn agreed, "Can we move on now?"

"Easy for you two talk. You got great hair."

Shawn smiled and ran his fingers through his hair while Melanie frowned.

"Cory, you've never seen my hair down."

"Yeah. We'll your lucky that you can put yours up. I look like a Chia pet."

Melanie rolled her eyes and continued to eat.

"Okay," Melanie turned to Shawn once she heard Cory talking to Topanga, "Where do you want to do the project. My house or yours?"

Shawn froze. Melanie didn't know that he lived in a trailer park and once she did, she probably would never want to be friends with him again.

"Yours."

"Cool." Melanie nodded, "We could go to Cory's if we finish early."

Shawn released the breath he didn't know he had been holding before agreeing with Melanie.

"Before I leave, I'd like you to sign a petition to save Mrs. Rosemead's job." Topanga said.

"Sure," Melanie said and she signed her name on the list.

"Thank you, Melanie." Topanga turned to look at Cory and Shawn.

"Who's Mrs. Rosemead?" Cory asked.

"Our librarian. They're forcing her to retire. It's blatant ageism." Topanga frowned.

"Maybe because she's blatantly old." Shawn deadpanned.

"Look," Cory said, "can we talk about this later? We're real, real busy here."

"Fine. I'll respect your space. I'll see you later, Melanie."

"Bye, Topanga." Melanie said as Topanga walked back to her table.

"Wow," Shawn said, "Feeny must hate your guts."

"Could be worse." Cory pointed out. "At least he didn't give me Minkus."

"Please don't talk about Topanga like that," Melanie said, feeling uncomfortable.

Shawn and Cory looked at each other before looking at her.

"Sorry." They both said and she rolled her eyes. She knew they didn't mean it.

"What am I going to do about my hair?" Cory asked.

"If you're that stressed out, I'll ask my sister what she uses to straighten her hair." Shawn said.

"Your sister straightens her hair?"

"Yeah. If she didn't, it'd look as bad as, oh, I don't know, you."

Melanie giggled.

~8~

"Hey, I got the stuff." Shawn announced as he and Melanie walked into Cory's house. "Did you know that Melanie's mom keeps a cabinet full of it."

"She uses it all the time." Melanie explained, "Her hair is naturally curly and she finds it too hard to manage."

Melanie and Shawn both froze as Topanga turned around to face them with red lipstick all over her face.

"Use a mirror, babe." Shawn said, weirded out.

"What stuff?" Topanga asked, ignoring Shawn.

"Let me ask you something." Cory began, "What do you think of my hair? You think it looks good?"

"It's beautiful, like a desert tumbleweed." Topanga replied in a distant voice.

"Thank you for those thoughts." Cory rolled his eyes, "Look, Topanga, you want to do this performance thing, you go for it. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Are we all done for today?" Topanga asked as Cory pushed her towards the back door.

"Yeah. Shawn, Melanie, and I have another project we're working on now."

"Really? What is it?" Topanga questioned with wide eyes.

Melanie opened her mouth to respond only to be cut off by Shawn,

"Well, you know how those dolphins get caught in the tuna nets?" Topanga nodded with wide eyes.

"Yeah. It's got nothing to do with that."

Melanie watched as Shawn closed the door in her friend's face.

"Can you guys stop being so mean to her!" Melanie exclaimed with a stamp of her foot. "She's my friend!"

Shawn and Cory looked each other and then shrugged,

"Sorry."

Melanie let out a huff and followed the two boys upstairs.

~8~

"Should this stuff be burning?" Cory asked as he walked out of the bathroom with Melanie and Shawn following him. His entire head was covered in a white foam.

"Why, is it burning?" Shawn asked, worried.

"No," Cory said sarcastically, "I'm just trying to make conversation because we never really get to talk."

"How bad is it burning?" Shawn tried again.

"Call your mom." Cory commanded to Melanie.

"She won't answer her phone. She's in a business meeting." Melanie said and Cory groaned

"Call your sister, Shawn." Cory commanded, "Ask her if my ears should feel like throbbing jalapenos."

"I… don't think it should, Cory." Melanie commented as she worriedly bit her lip.

"Hi, Stacy. It's me." Melanie turned her head to look at Shawn, "Listen, Cory wants to know if that stuff that you recommended should be burning. Uh-huh. Really?"

"Hurting! Hurting now!" Cory exclaimed.

"Stacy wants to know how long it's been burning?"

"Uh…Uh.."

"40-45 minutes." Melanie answered and Shawn nodded.

"45 minutes."

"Shawn, I'm going to rip my head off!"

"Stacy says you should've washed it out 45 minutes ago."

Melanie followed Cory as he ran into the bathroom.

"Stacy says you shouldn't have left it in so long. Stacy says why didn't you three idiots read the label? Oh, thanks, Stace."

Melanie covered her ears as Cory screamed at the sight of his hair. Hearing footsteps, Melanie turned around to see Mrs. Matthews and Eric staring at Cory before they started screaming.

Melanie ran over to Shawn and grabbed his hand.

"Come on. Let's go." She urged and Shawn yanked her as they ran out of Cory's room, crashing into Eric.

"Sorry." Melanie said as they ran.

"We had nothing to do with this." Shawn said.

~8~

Melanie looked over at Cory as he slouched in his chair, a red baseball cap covering his hair.

"You alright, Cory?" She asked quietly as she leaned forward.

"Does it look like I'm alright."

Feeling hurt, Melanie leaned back into her chair before, she too, slouched.

"All right," Mr. Feeny said as he walked to the front of the room, "Next up for oral reports—Miss. Lawrence and Mr. Matthews. Remove your cap and deliver your report."

"Uh," Cory froze, "I can't remove my cap because our report is on the ozone layer and the cap is part of our UV-protection angle."

"No caps in my class." Mr. Feeny restated with a shake of his finger.

"Mr. Feeny," Cory pleaded as he approached Mr. Feeny, "if there was one shred of humanity in you, you'll let me keep this on."

"Too many years of sixth grader have bled me of my humanity. Take your cap off." Mr. Feeny demanded.

Melanie watched with sad eyes as Cory removed his cap. Immediately, everyone in the class started laughing except for Melanie and Topanga. Melanie saw Cory's lower lip start to wobble and she took a deep breath. She was really disappointed.

~8~

Melanie sat next to Shawn at lunch and waited for Cory to come join them.

"Over here, duck head." Shawn called before he and Ellis busted out laughing.

Cory stood there awkwardly and Melanie fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Cory," She heard Topanga call, "There's a seat for you here."

Melanie watched as Shawn's laughing slowly ended and he gestured to Cory to come take a seat. Cory looked at Shawn and then walked over to Topanga's table.

"What is his problem?" Shawn asked as he took a bite of his food.

"Shawn," Melanie slowly began, "You do realize that you're being a bad friend, right?"

"What are you talking about? It's just a little fun."

"You're really hurting his feelings, though."

"He'll get over it."

Melanie abruptly stood up and started to walk over to Topanga and Cory.

"Mel… What are you doing." Shawn asked.

"I'm going to sit with my friends."

"Mel," Shawn said, hurt, "We are friends."

"Friends don't treat their friends this way."

And with that, Melanie walked over and joined Cory and Topanga trying to ignore the hurt looks that Shawn was sending her.

"Hey guys!" Melanie said as she sat down.

"Hello, Melanie." Topanga said.

"Hey Mel." Cory said, confused. "Why'd you are you sitting with over here with the weirdos?"

Melanie smiled,

"I'm not. I'm sitting with my friends."

As lunch continued, the table group formed a plan to keep Mrs. Rosemead from getting retired.

~8~

"How much longer are we going to wait for him?" Hailey asked as Melanie, Minkus, Topanga, and Ryan stood in a line with her.

"He's not going to show." Ryan shook his head.

"I feel cheap." Minkus said as he crossed his arms.

Hearing footsteps, the group looked to see Cory standing in front of them. His hair was standing up, making it look like he had been electrified.

"I know you people are way too smart and mature to find something as degrading as this funny." Cory said and they all started laughing.

"Look," Cory's laughs came to an end, "the bell's going to ring any second. Are we going to help out Mrs. Rosmead or not?"

Melanie and the others positioned themselves in a line before handcuffing themselves to each other and Cory and Melanie handcuffed one hand to the opposing lockers.

"Remember, hold your ground." Cory warned. "It's a Friday and we are the only roadblock to freedom. Things could get ugly."

~8~

"Hey! Mel! Wait up!" Melanie heard as she walked home with Topanga.

The two girls looked at each other before turning around to see Shawn racing towards them.

"Shawn? What do you want?" Melanie asked.

Shawn panted a little as he finally made it to Melanie.

"Hey, Topanga," He panted, "mind if I speak to her for a moment?"

"Sure." Topanga turned to Melanie, "I'll see you later tonight."

"Okay."

Melanie and Shawn watched as Topanga walked off before they faced each other.

"What's up?" Melanie asked again.

"Listen…" Shawn paused and scratched the back of his neck, "I just wanna say sorry for the way I was treating Cory an-"

"Then you should be apologizing to Cory." Melanie said as she turned but she stopped when she felt Shawn grab a hold of her arm.

"No, Mel. I'm sorry. I wasn't being a great friend and I'm sorry." Shawn explained. "I shouldn't have done that and it wasn't righ-"

Shawn froze when he felt a pair of lips on his cheek.

"It's okay, Shawnie." Melanie said as she pulled away. "Just admitting you've done something wrong means a lot."

Shawn lightly blushed and he once again scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"So, we're good?"

"Yes, Shawnie. We're good."

Melanie gave Shawn one last smile before she turned and ran to catch up with Topanga. Shawn subconsciously touched his cheek,

"Maybe I should apologize more often."


	6. Killer Bees

**Hey! Sorry this is late. I was sick for the past two days, but now I'm all better! I'm slowly trying to make things more romantic between Melanie and Shawn, so tell me what you think!**

 **Reviews are always welcome and if you have any ideas for the story, just let me know!**

* * *

"I have graded last week's geography examination," Mr. Feeny announced as he stood up from his desk, "And the highest score was achieved by—".

"Minkus." Cory interrupted, "Was it achieved by Minkus? Does it go to Minkus? Minkus, right?"

Melanie had a smile on her face as Shawn twirled his pencil in between his fingers with a smirk.

"Mr. Minkus," Mr. Feeny said.

"That's a shock." Cory rolled his eyes.

Melanie shook her head in amusement when she saw Shawn going into his backpack and pulling out a crumpled paper ball.

"Thank you, Mr. Feeny." Minkus said as he got his test back. "Your bonus question was a real stumper."

Shawn looked over at Melanie who gave him a small nod. Pulling back his arm, Shawn launched the ball at Minkus and Melanie gave a laugh as it hit his head.

"Ow."

Mr. Feeny rolled his eyes at the two and went around the classroom handing the tests back.

"Miss. Owens, excellent."

"Mr. Baker, very nice."

"Mr. Matthews, well, there it is."

Cory looked at his paper in shock,

"A 'C'? But I actually studied for this test. Why'd I get a 'C'?"

"Let's see. Where to begin." Mr. Feeny said as he flipped through Cory's test, "Well, for one thing, Mr. Matthews, this section of the map is not East Germany."

"It's not?"

"Perhaps you heard of a little incident with the Berlin Wall?"

"Was that during baseball season?" Cory asked, confused.

Melanie lightly slammed her head onto her desk and softly muttered 'Cory…why', while Shawn gave her a pat on the back.

"There is no East Germany anymore." Mr. Feeny stated.

"But the textbook says it's right next to West Germany."

"Yes, well, the textbook also says that Alaska and Hawaii will make fine states someday." Mr. Feeny continued to hand the tests out. "Things change, Mr. Matthews. Unfortunately, the Board of Education doesn't have the funds to keep up."

"Then how am I supposed to keep up?"

Mr. Feeny handed Shawn and Melanie their tests.

"What'd you get?" Shawn asked.

"A 'B-'. You?" Melanie replied as she flipped through her test.

"An 'F'."

"Nice."

Melanie and Shawn leaned back into their seats and while Melanie put her test away, Shawn started to fold a piece of paper into a paper airplane.

"Watch the news. Pay attention in class. Look at the mimeographs I give you before you turn them into paper airplanes."

Melanie heard Minkus give an 'Ow' and looked up to see a paper airplane on the floor next to him.

"Nailed it," Melanie whispered as she held her fist out to Shawn.

Shawn gave her a smile before fist bumping her in return.

~8~

"All right, heads up, class." Mr. Feeny began and Melanie turned to look at Cory and Shawn. "In these last few moments of class I want to make an announcement about this year's regional geography tournament."

Melanie raised her eyebrows at Shawn and he nodded to Cory. Holding out their hands, the three friends played a quick game of rock-paper-scissors. Melanie gave a silent cheer as she beat Shawn before turning to Cory and playing another round.

"Rock, paper, scissor, shoot." Melanie whispered and she held out rock.

Cory gave her a smirk as he placed his paper over her rock and Melanie made a face.

"So, based on his outstanding scholastic achievements, I have selected as this year's entrant-" Cory interrupted Mr. Feeny,

"Minkus. Have you selected Minkus?"

"Mr. Minkus." Mr. Feeny announced as he shot a glare at Cory, "And this year's first place prize will be—."

"A Mercator projection pull-down wall map?" Minkus asked, excited.

"No, this year's winner will be bat boy at the opening game of the World Series."

Minkus gave a disappointed as the bell rang.

"Did you hear that?" Cory asked as he turned to face Melanie and Shawn.

"Yeah. So?" Shawn replied as he packed his bag up.

"So I'm seeing my dream come true here." Cory exclaimed and Melanie gave him a confused look.

"Cory, the chance of Mr. Feeny taking you to the geography tournament is as rare as your hair straightening." Melanie said and Shawn barked a laugh while Cory glared at her.

"You didn't even know they tore down the Berlitz Wall." Shawn added.

"Shawn," Melanie paused, "It's the _Berlin_ Wall."

~8~

Melanie walked next to Shawn, who had his arm thrown over her shoulders; pulling her close to him. Melanie, Shawn, and Cory were leading Minkus to Cory's house. Cory had thrown his arm over Minkus's shoulder to keep him from running away.

"Mom," Cory announced as they all squeezed through the back door, "have you met my good friend Minkus?"

Melanie, Shawn, and Cory smiled forcibly at Mrs. Matthews.

"It's nice to meet you, Minkus." Mrs. Matthews said.

"Call my mother."

Melanie unwound herself from Shawn's tight grasp and squeezed herself between Shawn and Minkus.

"What?" Mrs. Matthews asked, confused.

Melanie took this opportunity to throw her arm around Minkus and pull him close to her, trying to ignore the sharp glare Shawn was shooting at her.

"He's a little nervous, Mrs. Matthews." Melanie said as she felt Minkus melt under her touch.

"We're gonna take him upstairs now." Cory said and they quickly led Minkus up the stairs before he went out of his 'Melanie Daze'.

~8~

"I'm glad you could come over, Minkus." Cory said as they entered his room.

Melanie let go of Minkus's shoulder and was suddenly pulled into someone's grasp.

Looking up, she saw Shawn's light blue eyes looking into her dark grey ones.

"Hey-a, Shawnie."

Shawn gave her a smile and let go of her, but kept his arm over her shoulder.

"Real nice to be here. Can I go now?" Minkus deadpanned.

"Chill." Melanie said.

"I don't understand what that means, my love." Minkus replied sweetly.

"It means that one out of every four people is a nerd. So when you look around this room and you don't see one, you're it." Shawn said as he placed his and Melanie's books down and then sat with her on Eric's and Cory's shared desk.

"But we can help you change," Cory said, gently.

Melanie raised her eyebrow, not liking where this was going.

"Maybe I like how I am." Minkus replied with a shrug.

 _You go Minkus_ , Melanie thought as she felt Shawn's arm leave her shoulders.

"You like how everyone always makes fun of you?"

"No."

"You like always being the last one picked for teams?"

"No,"

"You like everyone pulling your underwear up your butt all the time?"

"It's not so bad."

Melanie watched as Cory and Shawn groaned and threw their hands up in the air. Shawn angrily walked back to Melanie while Cory stayed standing.

"Minkus, let us help you."

"We're here for you, man." Shawn and Cory said.

"It's still early in the year. You can still change your image." Cory pointed out.

Shawn watched as Minkus's eyes flickered from Melanie, to the arm that was again wrapped around her shoulder, and then to his face and Shawn paused. Minkus thought that becoming like him would make Melanie like him more.

"What do I do?" Minkus asked.

"The geography tournament—you don't want to do it." Cory said and Minkus frowned.

"it'll brand you for life." Shawn added.

"But I love geography. I'm drawn by the adventure and the exoticism of it." Minkus said and he then smiled, "Hey. Perhaps you fellows would like to join the Future Cartographers of America Club with me."

Melanie, Shawn, and Cory shook their heads.

"If I don't do the tournament, will you guys like me?" Shawn's eyes narrowed as Minkus's eyes flickered to Melanie.

"No." Shawn and Cory replied.

"Then I don't see what's in it for me." Minkus crossed his arms.

"All right, name your price, your little creep." Shawn snapped.

"When you guys play Bombardment," Minkus began, "could you not aim the ball at my head anymore?"

"Deal." Cory said with a sigh, "Is that all?"

Melanie watched as Minkus pursed his lips before looking at her.

"A kiss from Melanie."

"What?"

"No!" Melanie and Shawn exclaimed at the same time.

"You're pushing your luck, creep." Shawn glared and Minkus frowned.

"Fine."

~8~

Melanie stood next to Shawn. They had been waiting for Cory to finish his studying so they could go to the park and play some ball.

"Can we go to the park now, Cory?" Melanie asked as she swayed on the balls of her feet.

"Come on, man, you're studying too much." Shawn said as he tossed the ball up, "The teachers are starting to notice."

"Not like that's a bad thing." Melanie quickly added in, "But you said that we'd go to the park and that's what we're here for."

"Wow! The highest and lowest points in the continental United States are only 50 miles apart, Death Valley and Mount Whitney." Cory said. "I find that extraordinary."

"Extraordinary?" Shawn said, concered, "He's mutating, Mel."

Melanie and Shawn looked at each other with wide eyes.

"Cory?" Melanie began, "You feeling okay."

"Yes. I have gotten an appropriate amount of sleep."

Melanie rubbed her eyes and Shawn through the ball at Cory's head.

"Ow."

"Shawn," Melanie said as she tugged on his sleeve, "I think Cory's broken."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"Hey dudes," Melanie and Shawn turned to find Minkus looking at them wearing overall, a striped shirt, and a backwards cap. "What's up."

"Shawn," Melanie whined, "I'm scared."

"Yeah, this is too weird for me." Shawn agreed, "I'm out of here."

Melanie followed Shawn as he left Cory's yard.

"Do you think that you should have changed Minkus?" Melanie asked as they walked to the park.

"I'm starting to think that we made a big mistake."

"Yeah."

~8~

"Hey, Cory," Melanie said as she sat down in her desk, "How'd the gerography bee go?"

"I lost."

"Well, at least you tried. Besides it's nice to have the old Cory back." Melanie said as Shawn sat down.

"Yeah," Shawn agreed, "Seeing you smart was weird."

"All right, class." Mr. Feeny began, "Today we will be learning…."

Melanie gave a small smile as she watched Shawn throw a paper airplane at Minkus. It was nice that things were back to normal.


	7. Boys II Mensa

"I have graded your book reports from last Friday and after I passed them out, we'll discuss them." Melanie heard Mr. Feeny say as she quickly scribbled her chores down onto her piece of paper.

It was her to-do list for when she got home and she wanted to make sure she had everything she needed down.

 _Do laundry._

 _Fold laundry_

 _Clean up dishes_

 _Empty dishwasher_

 _Feed Stephanie_

 _Eat_

Looking up, she saw Cory wearing a fake clown nose and was making faces at Shawn and Melanie cracked a smile.

"Mr. Matthews," Mr. Feeny said and Melanie watched as Cory slowly turned around, "Shall I express my usual disappointment or just ask you to guide my sleigh tonight?"

"Wrong holiday, Mr. Feeny." Melanie said as she gave a small laugh.

"Yeah, Mr. Feeny," Cory agreed, "See, Halloween's coming up and I was just test driving my clown nose."

"Then I insist you stay in the driver's seat. Put the nose back on for the rest of the morning." Mr. Feeny replied and Cory rolled his eyes. "Mr. Minkus, excellent work as usual. I particularly enjoyed your haiku on Captain Ahab's obsession with the great white whale."

"The calm blue ocean. Sun lights up the monster's eye. He sees me—whale food." MInkus said dramatically.

"It works on so many levels." Mr. Feeny said.

"Brown-noser." Shawn shot at Minkus.

"Troglodyte." Minkus responded.

"Mr. Lewis, very good work. Mr. Matthews, not one of your better efforts. Miss. Strong, I'm impressed. Mr. Hunter." Mr. Feeny said as he passed out the papers.

Melanie looked over her paper as she listened to Cory argue with Mr. Feeny about his grade.

"What'd you write about?" She heard Shawn ask and she looked up from her paper.

"My sister. You?"

"You."

Melanie avoided Shawn's eyes as a light blush came to her cheeks and Shawn smiled to himself.

~8~

Melanie leaned against the wall with Shawn as they waited for Cory to finish his detention with Mr. Feeny. Shawn was drinking some lemonade while Melanie read her book.

"You waited for me?" Melanie heard Cory say and she looked up.

"Am I not your best friend?" Shawn asked. "Mel even waited with me."

"You had detention too, didn't you?" Cory guessed and Shawn nodded.

"Oh, yeah. Mrs. Engles nailed me."

"I highly doubt that you got a detention, Mel." Cory said and Mel crossed her arms.

"I pulled the fire alarm today."

Shawn and Cory gaped at her.

"You're the reason why we had to evacuate the school."

"Are you serious?" They said at the same time.

Melanie laughed and shook her head,

"Nah, we actually did have a fire drill today. I just decided to wait for you since I have nothing interesting to do and Topanga got a ride home from her mom." Melanie looked at Shawn,

"How did you get a detention in art?"

"Well, that's what makes me one of the greats." Shawn said as he tossed the empty bottle into the trash.

"Hey, check this out," Shawn said as he grabbed a piece of paper that was in the trash, "answers to a test."

"Shawn," Melanie said as she looked over his shoulders to see the paper, "We can't be looking at test answers."

"Yeah, that's major cheating. Detention for life." Cory pointed out.

"No, these aren't for a real test. They're for that stupid IQ exam we're taking tomorrow." Shawn crumpled the paper and threw it back at the trashcan, where Cory caught it.

"Wow." Cory said in awe, "The person who know these answers gets a perfect score."

"On a test that doesn't count for a grade. Why bother?" Shawn asked as he walked towards Cory.

"Are you kidding? This is my ticket to get Feeny off my back. If Feeny thinks I'm a genius, he'll treat me just as good as he treats Minkus." Cory exclaimed.

"Hey, Cory, do yourself a favor. Crumple the paper up and throw it away in the trash. Don't complicate your life." Shawn advised.

"He's got a point, Cory." Melanie pointed out.

"You know, that makes a lot of sense and if I was a smarter person, I'd probably listen to you. Except, I'm not a smarter person. But tomorrow, I'm going to be a genius." Cory said as he folded up the paper.

Melanie rolled her eyes and walked in between Cory and Shawn as they headed out, dreading her chores and the results of tomorrow.

~8~

"I hold in my hands the result of Tuesday's IQ test and one person here deserves special attention. This person achieved not only the highest score in the class, not only the highest score in the school, but a score so high as to give a rise to the question 'Is there, in fact, a ceiling on human intelligence?" Melanie shifted uncomfortably in her seat as Mr. Feeny stalked towards Cory.

"Please, Mr. Feeny, you're embarrassing me."

"Mr. Minkus, you came in second."

"Second?" Minkus said, shocked.

"Uh-huh."

"As in the context of not first? Someone scored higher than I did on the IQ test?" Minkus asked with wide eyes.

"Blew you out of the academic waters. Someone sitting in this very classroom is a junior Kierkegaard." Mr. Feeny said as he stopped in front of Cory's desk.

"A what?"

"A great mind, Mr. Matthews, just like yours. I have clearly underrated you, and I bow to your genius." Mr. Feeny said as he started to clap and Melanie swallowed, "Come on. Bravo."

"It's not big thing, Mr. Feeny." Cory said as he stood up.

"On the contrary, Mr. Matthews, it is a big thing. A very big thing." Mr. Feeny said darkly.

Cory looked at Shawn and Melanie,

"Uh-oh."

~8~

Melanie, Shawn, and Cory rushed through Cory's door, ignoring his Mom's hello, and went straight up to his room.

"Feeny knows." Cory said as he held the white envelope in his hand, "Somehow he knows and he's going to get me."

"We warned you, Cory." Melanie said as she placed her bag down.

"You're wrong." Shawn said and Melanie and Cory gave him a look.

"You think he's sending my parents a thank you note?" Cory said sarcastically as raised his eyebrows, "' Thank you for bringing up your son. He's a genius. He's smarter than Captain Kirkaguard.'"

Shawn rolled his eyes and snatched the envelope out of Cory's hand, ripping it open.

"What are you doing?" Cory exclaimed, "That's a sealed envelope addressed to my parents. Now they're going to know I opened it."

"Cory, do your parents ever write letters to anyone?" Shawn asked.

"Yeah."

"And when they do, what do they put the letters in?"

"Envelopes."

"Just like this one," Shawn pointed out, "So we could read the note and seal it up in a new white envelope."

"Ha!" Cory laughed, "I love how we think."

Melanie jumped on the bed next to Shawn and read the letter over Shawn's shoulder.

"What's it say?" Cory asked, anxiously.

"Uh-oh." Shawn said.

"He's bringing in the SEA." Melanie said as she continued to 'read' the letter.

"What?"

"The State Education Authority," Shawn explained. "They have special field agents who handle intelligence fraud."

Melanie held a smile as she watched Cory panic.

"I'm cooked! I'm cooked, Mel, Shawn! For the first time in my life, I'm in real trouble." Cory exclaimed as he paced around his room.

"Not if we're making all this up." Shawn said as he held up the letter.

"Are you?" Cory asked with wide eyes.

Melanie and Shawn looked at each other before looking back at Cory,

"No."

"I'm cooked!"

"Relax," Melanie said as she laughed, "of course we're making it up. He just wants to talk to your parents."

"What if he tells them he doesn't think I'm a genius?" Cory asked as he took the letter and walked over to his desk to read it.

"Who care if Feeny doesn't think you're brilliant? As long as the test says so, you're a genius." Shawn said as he walked over to Cory.

"But I'm not, and my parents know that I'm not." Cory pointed out.

"Then you'll have to make them think you are." Shawn said.

"How do I do that?"

"Cory," Melanie said as she held a flashlight under her chin and turned the light on, "It's Halloween, and this year you're going to be a genius."

Melanie gave a cackle as the Cory and Shawn looked at each other.

"She does have a point." Shawn said.

~8~

"Shawn, Mel, this whole thing is getting out of hand." Cory said as the three of them sat facing one another on their desks, with Melanie sharing Shawn's desk with him.

"Relax," Shawn said, "everybody thinks you're brilliant. You should enjoy it."

"When it was just Feeny, I could enjoy it." Cory said, "But now my parents are involved, and I don't' like lying to them."

"You know, Cory," Melanie drawled, "You could always tell the truth."

"What? No, Mel." Shawn said, "He's come too far for him to give it all up."

"I mean, if he feels guilty he should at least say something." Melanie pointed out.

"It's just an adrenaline rush, he'll get over it." Shawn said, "Besides, he didn't tell them that he was a genius, Feeny did."

"And I didn't tell Feeny I'm a genius." Cory slowly understood what Shawn was getting at.

"And you didn't ask to take that test."

"They gave it to me."

"And you wouldn't have even seen the answers-"

"If they didn't give us-"

"Detention."

"We're innocent kids. Nothing we do is actually our fault." Shawn concluded, "It's good to be kids."

Melanie rolled her eyes,

"That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard."

"You have a better plan." Shawn challenged.

"Yeah. He wanted Feeny to get off his back so he took the paper to get a good grade."

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"Shut up, Shawnie. At least it's the truth."

The bell rang and Melanie hopped off Shawn's desk and walked back to her own desk.

"Class, this is Miss. Chin." Mr. Feeny introduced as a young, Asian woman walked into the classroom, "She'll be with you for the first half hour while I have a word with Mr. Matthews."

Cory faced Melanie and Shawn with wide eyes as he slowly got up.

"Tell my mom I went out like a man."

~8~

"Ok, I'm here. What's the big emergency?" Shawn asked he walked into the room where he found Cory and Melanie sitting on Cory's bed waiting for him.

Melanie calmly watched as Cory picked up his giant nerf gun and started shooting Shawn with it, making Shawn stumble into the window.

"Hey!" Shawn shouted, "What are you trying to do, kill me? Mel, you'd let him kill me?"

Melanie shrugged and tossed her braid over her shoulder,

"You deserve it."

Shawn rolled his eyes before looking back at Cory as he started to talk.

"Kill you? I'll tell you about killed." Cory shouted as he threw the nerf gun to the side, "How about what you did to me?"

"What'd I do?" Shawn exclaimed as walked towards Cory.

"Where are you spending your next recess? Playground, shooting hoops, playing ball?" Cory asked with narrowed eyes.

"So," Shawn said with a shrug.

"So let me tell you what I'm doing. I'm searching for Bobby Fisher." Cory exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Shawn asked.

"Did you know, Shawn," Melanie said with an overly sweet smile, "That geniuses go to a special school."

"You killed me." Cory said as he sat down on his bed. "I'm going to be in a class full of Minkus's. Wait a minute. What am I talking about? These kids make Minkus look like Fabio."

"They're putting you in another school?" Shawn questioned and Cory gave him a sad look.

"Yes. The lady is going to be here in a half an hour and they're going to give me another genius test and then they're going to take me away. So I called you and Mel up to say good-bye or as geniuses say, good-bye in Latin."

"Hey, idiot." Shawn said.

"What?"

"Are you a genius?"

"No."

"Do you have the answers to this test?"

"No."

"You kind of see where I'm going with this?"

"You want me to throw the test?"

"Oh, no, no. I want you to take the test to your best ability. And no guessing. I wouldn't want you to stumble onto the right answer."

"But if Cory does fail this," Melanie said with crossed arms, "You do realize that they're going to find this even more suspicious."

"No guessing." Shawn said as he and Melanie left Cory's room.

"Good luck." Melanie called.

~8~

"Hey, aren't you that Feeny guy from school?" Cory asked in a high pitched voice as they stood in the doorway of his house.

Cory was dressed as a vampire with a bat face-mask while Shawn was dressed as a Zombie with a Zombie mask and their friend, Peter, was dressed as Peter Pan. Melanie had gone as a dead bride and had a ripped and dirtied wedding dress on. Her face was covered by a veil and she had white makeup on her face with lots of black eyeshadow around her eyes.

"I'm Mr. Feeny, yes."

"My brother's friend, Cory Matthew, said I'm going to have you for a teacher next year. He said that you're the best teacher in the world."

"Oh, please, Mr. Matthews." Mr. Feeny said as he reached for Peter's mask. "I wasn't born yesterday—I'm terribly sorry."

Melanie watched with a grin as Mr. Feeny stammered before giving Peter all his rulers and rushing off into the kitchen to candy.

Melanie flipped her veil up while Cory and Shawn took off their masks.

"And they say I'm not a genius."


	8. Grandma was a Rolling Stone

**Sorry for the delay. I was out doing work for a camp last week. Thank you so much for the reviews! Enjoy!**

* * *

Melanie held out the small paper bag that they were using to collect the snails from Mr. Feeny's flower bushes.

"Oh," Melanie cried and she pointed to a large snail on a leaf, "Get that one, Shawnie."

As Shawn leaned over to pluck the snail from the leaf, Mr. Matthews voice rang out as he approached them.

"Hey, guys. Collecting snails?"

"Yeah," Cory nodded, "Mr. Feeny said we can take 'em off his flowers and use them for bait when we all go fishing Sunday."

"He said that I can keep some for a pet too!" Melanie said as she gave a wide smile.

"Fish don't eat snails." Mr. Matthews announced and he looked over to Mr. Feeny.

"Gee, I guess I was mistaken."

"Well, whenever you guys are ready, the bass master here is all set to pass on to the younger generation some of the finer points of spin casting." Mr. Matthews said and Melanie, Shawn, and Cory turned to Mr. Feeny.

"Manipulating young and impressionable minds." Cory handed Mr. Feeny the bag, "I hope you're proud of yourself, Mr. Feeny."

"Indeed, I am Mr. Matthews." Mr. Feeny smiled, "Miss. Strong, I will leave the snails out here so you can come and gather the ones you want to keep pets."

"Sweet!" Melanie exclaimed.

"Come on, guys." Mr. Matthews called.

Cory jumped over the fence and Shawn stayed back to help Melanie's smaller for get over.

"Here," He said kneeling down and holding out his hand, "I'll give you a boost."

Melanie flashed Shawn her million-watt smile and Shawn felt his heart melt.

"Thanks, Shawnie."

Once Melanie successfully made it over the fence, Shawn jumped over and sat down next to Mel.

"Now," Mr. Matthews began, "the main thing to remember is that basically it's a simple flick of the wrist. You open the bail, hold the line with your finger, and then it's 2:00, 10:00."

Melanie watched in fascination as Mr. Matthews swung the fishing rod back and forth until he accidentally hooked one of Mr. Feeny's pots and sent it crashing to the ground.

"Kind of a quarter after 3:00 thing you got going on there, Dad, huh?" Cory said and Mr. Matthews smiled.

"May a, uh, fellow angler try his luck?" Mr. Feeny asked.

"Be my guest, George." Mr. Matthews said as he handed Mr. Feeny the rod.

Melanie watched as Mr. Feeny played with the rod and then swung it, the hook landing the bucket on the other side of the fence.

"It's like getting back on a bicycle. One never forgets." Mr. Feeny said with a sigh.

"You fish, Mr. Feeny?" Melanie asked.

"Oh, sure." Mr. Feeny nodded, "I'm an old bass hog from way back. I'll never forget that September morn, 1956…"

Melanie stared with an open mouth as Mr. Feeny reflected back on a fishing trip. She just wanted to know if he fished. She didn't need this back story. Mr. Feeny's story was not only lost by her but by the Cory as he turned to ask his dad a question and Mr. Feeny walked away.

~8~

Cory raced to the phone and grabbed it dialing Shawn's phone number. If his grandma wouldn't show up, he knew that his best friends would always be there to hang out with him, and if Shawn couldn't show up, his other best friend would most likely be available to come over.

"Hi, Mrs. Hunter? It's Cory." Cory announced once she picked up the phone. "Is Shawn around? What do you mean, he's gone fishing? Okay, thank you. Goodbye, Mrs. Hunter."

Cory hung up and turned to his mom,

"You forgot to call Shawn." Mrs. Matthews said.

"I forgot."

"I'm guessing that you forgot to call Melanie too."

Cory picked up the phone again and quickly dialed Melanie's number,

"Hello, Mrs. Strong? This is Cory. Is Melanie there?" Cory's eyes widened, "She's gone fishing with a friend and his dad? Okay, thanks. Bye, Mrs. Strong."

Cory hung up and turned to his mom,

"She's gone fishing with dad and Shawn and Mrs. Strong thinks that Shawn's dads' son."

"You didn't tell them that you weren't going on the fishing trip?"

"I forgot." Cory sighed, "Now they're out there with my dad drinking root beer, eating potato chips, bonding away. I miss one thing with my dad and he drops me for the first available son and daughter."

Cory headed towards the door, his head drooped.

"Where are you going?" Mrs. Matthews asked watching Cory.

"I'll be in the tree house. Hold my calls."

~8~

Melanie walked next to Shawn as they followed Mr. Matthews around the house. Melanie was dressed in her fishing gear- like everyone else- and her hair was in a loose bun so that it was out of her face and out of her way. Mr. Matthews carried two coolers while Shawn carried a cooler and the fishing rods and she carried the life jackets and bait box.

"Hey, Eric." Melanie said cheerfully as Eric kissed the girl in front of him.

Eric whirled around and casually leaned against the fence.

"Oh, hey."

"We were just passing through." Mr. Matthews explained.

"Good. Pass."

Melanie placed her stuff on the picnic table and walked back over to where Shawn, Cory, and Mr. Matthews stood. As soon as she stood next to Shawn he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to his side.

"What are you doing back from Baltimore so early?" Mr. Matthews asked and Cory sighed.

"I didn't go to Baltimore."

"Why not?" Mr. Matthews asked, confused.

"Cause I stayed here all day cause Grandma dumped me while my two best friends were out stealing my dad." Cory pouted.

"Oh, grow up." Shawn said, "We didn't steal your dad."

Melanie and Shawn gathered their stuff and turned to leave.

"Night, Dad." Melanie said to Mr. Matthews giving Cory a smirk.

~8~

Melanie leaned over Shawn's shoulder as they looked at the card Cory's grandma gave him.

"I never thought I'd actually get to hold one of these things." Shawn said in awe.

"My grandma picked it up at the swap meet for seven bucks."

"Seven bucks in dog years." Shawn exclaimed.

Melanie reached over and took ahold of the card,

"This has to be worth $150."

"It is?"

"Yeah."

"Boy," Shawn sighed, "Your grandma must really love you."

"Yeah, or she shot a man in Reno just to watch him die."

Melanie gave an uneasy laugh with Shawn,

"You're kidding, right?"

"I'm not sure."


	9. Teacher's Bet

"Hey Cory," Melanie heard Shawn say and she looked up from the book she was reading, "Brought you a great article on Barry Bonds."

"Ah, the $43- million man," Cory sighed.

"Why do they call him that?" Minkus asked as he looked at the newspaper.

"Because that's what he's getting paid to play baseball for six years." Melanie explained and Minkus nodded.

"$7.16- million a year?" Minkus gasped.

"If that's what it comes out to, yeah." Shawn said as he threw his arm around Melanie's shoulders.

"He happens to be one of the top guys in baseball," Cory explained as he scrolled through the newspaper.

"Well, I happen to Mr. Feeny is one of the top guys in teaching and he makes about 40,000 a year." Minkus said as he crossed his arms.

"That stinks," Shawn said.

"Something we agree on." Minkus nodded.

"Yeah," Cory agreed.

"Feeny ain't worth that kind of money." Shawn stated and Melanie slapped his arm.

"If you really think about it, Hunter, Feeny is really underpaid." Melanie said with a huff, "I mean, someone would have to bribe me big time to teach you and Cory,"

Shawn smirked and pulled Melanie closer,

"Would they have to bribe you with my kiss?"

"They'd have to bribe me with more than one." Melanie teased as Shawn blanched.

"Really?!"

"No, Shawn. I need money to live."

"I thoroughly agree with Melanie. Mr. Feeny is grossly and tragically underpaid." Minkus said with a nod.

"Minkus, Mel—may I call you Melanie?" Melanie gave Cory a pointed glare and his eyes widened, "Okay, Mel. We'll stick with Mel. Anyway, does spelling ever change? No. Does history ever change? Uh-uh. Does Feeny ever change? Never. Know why? He doesn't have to. Know why? Cause nothing about teaching six grade ever changes."

"Well, I think you're wrong." Minkus said.

"Well, I think I'm right." Cory nodded his head towards the cafeteria door, "I think in about five seconds, Feeny walks in here, takes a sip from the drinking fountain, flicks his mustache, goes to the coffee machine, sees me, and says, 'Good morning, Mr. Matthews. I trust you've done the homework.' Every day the same thing. He's so predictable."

Melanie, Shawn, Cory, and Minkus turned their heads and watched as Feeny did everything Cory said he would do.

~8~

"This week in Social Studies we'll be talking about prejudice." Mr. Feeny announced.

"Good, cause I'm prejudice against the scungy food in the cafeteria." Cory said and everybody laughed.

Mr. Feeny rolled his eyes and continued to pass out the books, "We will be discussing black slavery the American South, the Jews in Nazi Germany, and several examples of prejudice throughout history. Tonight, your assignment is to read the first thirty pages of that book."

"Aw, man, it's a book about some girl." Cory whined as the bell rang.

Melanie rolled her eyes and walked over to Shawn.

"Ready?" She asked with a smile.

"Of course."

~8~

Melanie watched with confused eyes and Cory walked to the front of the room.

"Good morning, class!" Cory exclaimed, "For the rest of the week I'm going to be your social studies teacher."

Melanie's eyes widened as she looked over to Shawn,

"Did you know about this?"

"Nah," he laughed, "but this is great."

"I'm your new teacher, and my name is," Melanie watched as Cory went up to the board and wrote on it, "Hey Dude."

"That all right with you, George?" Cory taunted.

"Mi clase es su clase." Mr. Feeny replied nonchalantly.

"And you guys know that rule about no baseball caps in class?" Cory asked and everybody nodded, "History!"

Melanie looked around as all the boys started cheering and placing baseball caps on their heads.

"Wha…?" She questioned when she suddenly felt pressure on her head.

"Turns out I have an extra." Shawn said as he leaned back

Melanie blushed and pulled the cap down further as Shawn laughed.

"You're not showing up like, naked tomorrow, are you?" Melanie heard and looked at Cory in confusion only to relax when she saw that it was Topanga he was talking to.

"No," Topanga sniffed, "Although I find nothing shameful about nudity. I was thinking about wearing garments from cultures more in tune with the goddesses. A sari, perhaps, or a pareo."

"Yeah, fine." Cory waved it off, "As long as your covered up."

"People, people, people." Minkus exclaimed, "Are we going to do our social studies work today?"

"Minkus, Minkus, Minkus." Shawn droned, "Shut up."

Melanie groaned when she heard Cory repeat the same homework, knowing that whatever was going on wasn't going to end well.

~8~

Melanie watched as Cory struggled to get the class under control and shrugged.

It was his choice to do this and now he was going to pay.

Melanie leaned her arms on Shawn's back as she watched him stack the deck.

"I'm gonna beat you, you know." She said and he laughed.

"Yeah, right."

Melanie watched Shawn stack for a little longer before she heard Mr. Feeny enter the room and sit in front of them.

"You boys ready to lose." She asked once the cards were dealt.

"Bring it."

"You're on." Mr. Feeny and Shawn replied.

~8~

"What! No." Melanie exclaimed as Shawn won another round of poker, "You cheated!"

"How did I cheat?" Shawn laughed as he collected the gum he won.

"I don't know… but you did!"

"Shawn," Melanie said as she looked over at Cory as he tried to teach the class, "Do you think we should pay attention."

"Nah."

"Oh, look! Feeny's here." Melanie exclaimed as George walked into the room.

Class seemed to fly by for Melanie. She was so convinced that Shawn was cheating in poker, that she had lost almost all of her 'money'.

"Hey, George, this isn't gum. These are Rolaids." Shawn exclaimed as he looked at the Rolaid.

"Deal me out this one, Mr. Hunter."

"What? Why?"

When Mr. Feeny didn't answer, Shawn shrugged and turned to look at Melanie who was trying to sneak some of Shawn's gum into her pile.

He slapped her hand,

"Ow!"

"Don't steal. That's cheating."

"Hey, Shawn, before your mother got married, what was her name again." Cory asked and Melanie looked at him while Shawn continued to shuffle his cards.

"Cordini."

"Cordini." Cory paused, "So, that would make you a wop, right?"

Melanie's mouth dropped as everybody went silent and all heads turned to look at Shawn and Cory.

Shawn threw down the cards and jumped off his desk, "What did you call me?"

"You heard what I called you."

"Did you hear what he called me?" Shawn asked as he turned to face Mr. Feeny.

"I heard what he called you."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"He's the teacher." Mr. Feeny pointed out. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I'm gonna knock his head off." Shawn growled as he gave Cory a shove and Melanie shot up from her chair and grabbed Shawn's arm.

"Shawn, don't!" She exclaimed, "He's not worth it."

"What about you?" Cory asked, turning his attention to Melanie, "Isn't your Mom's maiden name MacFraser? Doesn't that make you a Mick?"

Melanie felt her eyes widen as her grip on Shawn tightened.

"What did you call her?" Shawn growled as he took a step closer to Cory.

"I'm really gonna knock your head off now!" Shawn lunged forward, escaping Melanie's grip.

"What if you couldn't?" Cory shouted, effectively stopping Shawn. "What if you couldn't do anything about it?"

"What?" Shawn questioned.

"What if you lived in a country where I could kill you because of your mom's last name?"

"Cory, what are you talking about?" Melanie softly asked as she took a step forward.

"A fifteen-year-old is dead." Cory exclaimed, "Doesn't anybody care?"

"Cory…" Shawn sighed as he pushed his hair back.

"She was real smart and totally cool." Cory walked to the front of the room and held up his book, "She wrote this book. Her name was Anne Frank. They say she died of typhus but they killed her because he name was Anne Frank." He took a deep breath, "Anne Frank was a victim of antisymitism."

"Antisemitism."

"Thank you, Mr. Feeny." Cory said, "You have to read this book and you have to pass this test. Not because of me, but because when someone calls someone else a bad name, it's not good that one person jumps up. We all need to jump up."

Cory opened the book,

"In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."

~8~

"Shawn!" Melanie called as she raced towards him, "SHAWN!"

Hearing his name called, Shawn turned around to see Melanie racing towards him and stopped.

"I… I…." Melanie panted once she caught up to him.

"You what?"

Shawn froze as Melanie pulled him into a tight hug,

"Thank you."

* * *

 **Okay! I'm back and better than ever! Sorry this update took so long. Tell me what you think of protective Shawn. Do you like it? Want more? More fluff? Like me know!**

 **Thank you for all the reviews. They really mean a lot to me!**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	10. The Pre-Union

"Taxation without representation." Melanie listened to Mr. Feeny as Cory and Minkus sat next to him at the front of the room, "King George."

"We provide the colonists with all their finished manufactured goods." Minkus stated, "We deserve remuneration."

"George Washington."

"Fine," Cory shrugged, "Keep your goods. Like we need your stinking British goods. We're American. We're independent. We'll get our goods from Japan."

Melanie barked out a laugh with the rest of the class after Cory said that. She leaned forward and rested her head on her arms, her hair pulled back into a loose French braid. She was, again, way too tired to be in school. Ever since her Dad got promoted, her parents had been out partying almost every night, leaving her with Stephanie.

Melanie gave a soft sigh and focused her attention back to the front of the room.

"I have no history, Mr. Feeny." Cory explained, "I'm eleven. I'm more interested in my future."

"Oh, well," Mr. Feeny said as he clapped his hands and stood up, "then it might be more interesting for us to look into our futures to see if we can avoid our mistakes before they happen."

"I smell an assignment." Shawn muttered.

"I swear; I didn't see it coming." Cory said sarcastically.

"The assignment," Mr. Feeny began, "is for all of you to create personal histories for yourselves as if you were returning for your 20th high school reunion."

"More like a preunion." Minkus voiced and Mr. Feeny nodded.

"Well said, Mr. Minkus. You are the graduating class of the year 2000." Mr. Feeny paused, "What is your profession? Do you have children? Are those children tormenting their sixth-grade teacher?"

The class laughed in amusement and agreement.

"Mr. Feeny, would it be okay if I brought my wife?" Minkus asked.

"Oh, come on, Minkus, what's going to marry you?" Shawn stated.

"Melanie or Topanga."

The class oohed as Melanie blanched and Topanga carefully closed her notebook.

"Why, Stuart, I'm flattered that you would consider me as a potential life mat, but I'm not sure I even recognize the institution of marriage." Topanga explained.

"Minkus," Melanie said as she gave a nervous laugh and looked over at an angry Shawn, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"Trust me, babe, I've seen the future and it's me." Minkus winked.

~8~

Melanie bounded over to the table that Shawn, Cory, and Larry sat at.

She had just finished talking to Topanga about what she was going to be and was really excited. She was going to keep it a secret no matter how much Shawn pestered her to spill. It was gonna be an awesome surprise.

"Hey, guys!" Melanie chirped.

"We're gonna be MEN!" Was the response that Shawn shouted back at her.

She stood in a confusion as Larry, Cory, and Shawn started to bark.

"Um… okay?"

~8~

Melanie stood next Topanga. Melanie was wearing a knee- length, grey plaid skirt and a white blouse.

"I really like your world Topanga," Melanie complimented and Topanga smiled.

"Thank you. I also agree that the future you made is also very exquisite."

"Thank you!"

Melanie smiled and quickly walked over to where Shawn and Cory stood while Mr. Feeny talked to Topanga about her report.

"Hey guy- Woah!" Melanie exclaimed as she looked at Shawn's stomach, "Your wife must be a good cook."

"I'm really hoping you are," Shawn said as he patted his stomach, "Or this might just be a bunch of junk."

Melanie blushed before quickly asking,

"What are your jobs?"

"Center field of the Philadelphia Phillies." Cory replied.

"Tire Salesman."

"Nice."

"What are you, Mel?" Cory asked.

"I'm a teacher."

"Miss. Strong," Melanie turned to Mr. Feeny.

"I'll see you in a bit," She said before heading over to Mr. Feeny.

"Your future is very normal, Miss. Strong." Mr. Feeny noted as he skimmed through her paper.

"Yeah, is that a problem?" Melanie asked as she tilted her head.

"No, not at all. I do, though, find it very curious that you married Mr. Matthews and Miss. Lawrence together."

"Well, I want all my best friends to stick together. That's why I have us all living as neighbors."

"I also noticed that you married Mr. Hunter."

Melanie blushed and looked down,

"I couldn't find anyone else compatible for him."

"Ah, well overall this was a very good report. I'll give you an A."

"Thank you, Mr. Feeny." Melanie beamed.

* * *

 **Thank you for all the reviews!**

 **How did you like Melanie's outtake on the future?**

 **Do you have any guesses on what might be heading our way?**

 **If you do, let me know what you think.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	11. Santa's Little Helper

"And it was always said of Scrooge 'that he knew how to keep Christmas well if any man alive possessed the knowledge and may that be truly said of us, and all of us. And so as Tiny Tim observed, 'God bless us. Every one." Mr. Feeny took a breath before continuing, "And so ends Dickens' masterpiece, _A Christmas Carol_."

"Wait a minute, that's not the end." Shawn softly commented as he finally paid attention to Mr. Feeny and stopped talking to Cory, "Where's the Grinch."

"Yeah," Cory agreed, "Isn't the Grinch supposed to show up now and, like, take everything?"

"How come it's called, _A Christmas Carol_ , anyway?" Melanie rubbed her forehead at the question Shawn asked.

"Yeah. There was nobody in this story named Carol." Cory nodded and Melanie lightly slammed her head on her desk.

"Miss. Lawrence," Mr. Feeny sighed, "would you please trade places with Mr. Matthews."

"Alright." Topanga said as she straightened up in her chair, "I am a hyperactive, underachieving, eleven-year-old boy."

"I meant physically."

"Oh, well, that takes less of a psychic toll."

Melanie watched as Cory and Topanga quickly switched seats and she reached her hand out, giving Topanga a high-five.

"Why do I have to move?" Cory whined as he slid into his seat.

"We were just giving our view of the book." Shawn pointed out.

"Yeah. I mean, you say 'literary masterpiece', we say, 'eh'." Cory explained as he and Shawn gave a thumbs down.

"Mr. Matthews, I'm less interested in your review than I am that you understand the material. What, in your opinion, was Mr. Dickens trying to express in his Christmas story?" Mr. Feeny asked.

"That if you're a real butthead, then neat ghosts will take you to cool places."

Melanie watched as Mr. Feeny gave Cory a look before giving him a thumbs down,

"Ehh."

~8~

Melanie walked through the lunchroom doors and headed over to the table she sat at with Cory and Shawn. Melanie smiled when she saw that Topanga was standing there talking to Cory and Shawn.

 _Maybe they're getting along,_ she thought as she made her way to the seat in between her two best guy friends.

Bounding over, her cheerful smile dropped into a frown as she heard Cory and Shawn bully Topanga into moving away,

"Listen, Topanga, I think I can hear them calling you back into your own dimension." She heard Shawn say.

"Oh, yeah. They're saying 'Topanga, get your aura back here." Cory agreed.

"And bring Minkus." Shawn added.

Letting out a sigh, she slapped Cory and Shawn on the back of their heads as she sat in her seat and pulled out her lunch, watching as Topanga and Minkus moved away

"Ow!" They exclaimed, rubbing the back of their heads.

"From now on, whenever I see or hear you being mean to her, I'm gonna slap you on the back of your heads." Melanie declared with a firm nod.

"Fine," Cory said, "Anyway, Christmas tree update. I think I got my real leather NBA regulation basketball."

"Cool." Melanie said with a soft smile.

"Major gift." Shawn agreed as he took a bite out of his sandwich.

"So major a gift I've been saving up to buy my gift a gift." Cory announced.

"What do you get the basketball who has everything?" Shawn asked.

"A five-dollar top of the line imitation nylon net."

"You have five bucks?" Melanie asked as Cory held up the money.

"I've been saving up for a month."

"Let's go buy it after school?" Shawn voiced.

"No." Cory replied, "Then I tip off my parents that I know what I'm getting."

Melanie and Shawn nodded, amazed at the planning Cory put into this.

"You are a yuletide master." Shawn complimented.

"Christmas is very delicate. You screw up—wool." Cory explained before turning his attention to Shawn, "So, what's the update at your house?"

"Me? Hey, Bob Stubcheck's Sports World has to send over a truck with all the stuff my dad got me. He got me, like, everything." Shawn said with a large smile.

"That's great." Cory smiled.

"Yeah," Shawn beamed, "My dad totally came through this year."

"What about you, Mel?" Cory asked.

"I don't know." Melanie said as she sipped her juice box, "I guess that it's just gonna be a surprise."

"Well speaking of surprises," Melanie heard Minkus say and turned to see him standing there with a notebook, "You haven't chipped in your five-dollars for Mr. Feeny's class present."

"I thought I already did." Melanie pondered and Minkus quickly shook his head.

"Not you, My Sweet. I was talking to Shawn."

"Tomorrow," Shawn said as he looked down at his lunch.

"You said that yesterday." Minkus pointed out.

"Come on, Shawn," Cory encouraged, "Don't think of it as five-dollars for Feeny's present; think of it as five bucks to make Minkus go away."

"Look, Minkus, I just spent my last money on lunch, okay? I'll give it to you tomorrow." Melanie and Cory watched in confusion as Shawn got up and left the cafeteria.

"What? His mother charged him a packing fee?" Minkus snipped before walking off.

Melanie and Cory shared a confused look before looking at the door and then to their lunches.

~8~

"Hey, Cory, I'm here. What's up?" Melanie asked as she entered the Matthews' household.

"Oh, good, you're here." Cory exclaimed as he raced towards her from the staircase, "Listen, Shawn's dad lost his job and he's gonna be like Tiny Tim on Christmas."

"Cory, what are you talking about?" Melanie asked as she gave him a confused look, "Shawn said that his dad got him a bunch of presents this year."

"Yeah, well, he was lying." Cory said as he dropped his arms to his side.

~8~

"Ta-da!" Cory exclaimed as he saw Shawn, holding a box wrapped in red and green wrapping paper with a big, red ribbon.

Melanie sat on the on the steps of the backyard, biting her nails. She didn't think this was a good idea. If Shawn didn't tell them, he was probably embarrassed and giving him this present might make it worse.

"What is it?" She heard Shawn say and she bit her nail.

This really wasn't a good idea. If someone did this to her, she would be thankful but at the same time she would be offended. She would feel like they would be doing this out of charity.

"Mel, you're here too?" She heard Shawn's say, snapping her to attention.

"Mmmhmmm."

"A real leather NBA certified dribbles like a dream basketball! I'm giving this to you." Cory said as he handed Shawn the ball, "Don't you love me."

"Why'd you give this to me?" Shawn asked as he spun the ball.

"Because it's Christmas."

"So? We never give each other stuff on Christmas."

"Yeah, but this year's different." Melanie flinched as she heard Cory say that.

 _Wrong move, pal._ She thought.

"Why?"

"Well, because…"

"Because why?"

"Because you're my best friend."

"But I wasn't last year." Shawn looked over at Melanie who was biting her nails and staring over at Mr. Feeny's garden. "Why doesn't Melanie have a gift?"

"No, you were. Mel alre-"

"Cory, best friends don't lie to each other." Shawn cut him off and Cory sighed.

"Ok, Look, Shawn, I gave this to you because I didn't think you'd be getting that many gifts this year."

"Hey, I told you. I'm getting a ton of stuff. I don't need a basketball. My dad already got me two." Shawn said as he walked over and sat on the fence dividing the houses, still holding the basketball.

 _No,_ Melanie mentally scolded, _get out of my view._

"Best friends don't lie to each other." Cory repeated.

"What are you talking about?" Shawn asked, confused as he looked over at Melanie, who was still avoiding him.

"I know about your dad getting laid off." Cory admitted.

"Says who?" Shawn said as he jumped off the fence and approached Cory with a dark look on his face.

"Says my dad."

"Oh, so what'd you do, go tell everyone?" Shawn accused as he glared at Cory, "I'm guessing you already told Mel."

"Yeah, I told Mel. She has a right to know. She's one of your closest friends." Cory defended, "I didn't tell anyone else. Look, Shawn, I'm trying to give you a nice gift so you don't have a Tiny Tim Christmas and you're acting like you're mad at me."

Melanie listened as her two closest friends argued over the gift and closed her eyes. She saw where Cory was coming from, but the way he presented it was wrong and could be taken the wrong way. She also saw where Shawn was coming from.

"I'd rather have nothing for Christmas than your lousy charity." She heard Shawn exclaimed and she looked up to see him throw the ball down and storm out, with Cory yelling at him about how he should be thankful.

"Shawn," She called as she got up and rushed after him, "Shawn, wait!"

Melanie panted once she finally caught up with his furious figure.

"Shawn, he didn't mean it like that." She tried to explain, trying to keep up with him.

"He was trying to be a good friend." She tried again.

"Mel, just stop." Shawn exclaimed as he finally stopped, causing Melanie to accidentally crashed into him, "Just leave me alone. You were in on this too."

Melanie felt her heart drop as she watched Shawn turn and walk in the direction of his house before turning and walking to hers.

"I'm sorry." She quietly whispered.

~8~

Melanie sat next to Cory and watched as Shawn sit at another table.

"This sucks." She muttered and Cory nodded in agreement.

"Yeah."

The two of them watched as Minkus approached Shawn and started asking for the five-dollars. Shawn stormed out and Melanie watched as Cory approached Minkus and gave him the five-dollars that he was gonna use to buy the net for his basketball.

Melanie smiled and after Minkus left pulled Cory into a crushing hug.

~8~

"Hey, guys." Melanie said as she walked into Cory's backyard.

"Oof!" Melanie exclaimed a large force envelope her in a hug.

Opening her eyes, she smiled and squeezed Shawn back.

"I'm guessing we're all good now." She said once Shawn pulled back and he nodded.

"Yeah, we're all good."

Grabbing Cory, she pulled him into their hug,

"Merry Christmas, guys."

"Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas."

* * *

 **Another update and maybe one more after this.**

 **We finally got to double digits! Yay!**

 **Kittkatty: Yes, I will be continuing this into Girl Meets World (which I'm so excited for). I like your idea of making Maya Shawn and Melanie's daughter and I have been thinking of ways of making that happen; however, do you guys want Maya to be their daughter and if you do, do you have any ideas on how to make it work?**

 **Thank you for the reviews! I love to read them!**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	12. The FatherSon Game

"And to the republic for which it stands one nation, under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all." Melanie finished and sat down in her seat.

"Miss. Lawrence, I couldn't help noticing that you didn't recite the Pledge of Allegiance this morning." Mr. Feeny announced and Topanga nodded.

"Yes, sir. I elected not to."

"Why was that?" Mr. Feeny questioned.

"I didn't feel like it."

"This is gonna be cool." Cory whispered, turning to look at Shawn and Melanie.

"What was that, Mr. Matthews?" Mr. Feeny said and Cory froze.

"Uh, I said, this is gonna be cool, Mr. Feeny."

"Why?"

"Cause you're finally gonna nail Topanga for being weird." Cory stated.

"Do you think it's weird to engage in social protest?" Mr. Feeny inquired.

"I think it's weird to pick on me when she didn't say the Pledge of Allegiance."

"Well, Mr. Matthews," Mr. Feeny said as he went up to the board, "it seems that you and Miss. Lawrence have opposing positions for this morning's debate."

"Uh-oh." Cory said as his eyes widened.

"You've been set up, bud." Minkus said and Melanie laughed.

"Mr. Feeny told you not to say the pledge?" Cory asked Topanga and she smiled.

"Today's social studies discussions—American traditions; the Pledge of Allegiance versus Social Protest." Mr. Feeny announced as he wrote on the board, "Mr. Matthews, defend old Glory. Miss. Lawrence, defend the right to dissent."

Melanie watched as Topanga and Cory stood up next to each other and began to support their opinions.

"Just because it's a tradition doesn't mean you have to do it." Topanga pointed out.

"But it's the pledge," Cory exclaimed, "It takes, like, ten seconds to say. Why can't you just it and make everyone happy?"

"Because if I'm forced to do it just because it's some tradition I don't understand, then it doesn't make me very happy." Topanga retaliated and Melanie mentally 'oohed'.

"Can you spell peculiar?" Cory asked as he gave Topanga a look.

"Oh, and you're normal? You talk to a flag every day and you don't even know what you're saying."

"But I do it. I do it because I'm supposed to do it. And that's what makes me a great American."

Melanie nearly lost it when Shawn start to hum "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah."

"That's what makes this country great." Cory continued very patriotically, "That flag. Because that flag gives us the right to have this discussion and this discussion is the most important discussion we will ever have, and-"

Melanie raced out the door the second she heard the bell ring; Cory's speech was going absolutely nowhere.

~8~

"Parents don't understand how important the weekend is, you know?" Melanie heard Cory say as he and Shawn sat down at the table.

"Yeah." Shawn agreed, "Like there's not enough pressure on us being in the sixth grade all week."

"And then they want us to do stuff on our only days off." Cory added as he ate a fry.

"Only three days till Monday." Minkus said as he placed his tray down next to Shawn.

"Minkus, I'm sure that if you check your ticket stub you'll see that your seat is in the goon section." Shawn pointed out as he looked at Minkus.

"I'm just leaving my tray here while I get an apple, okay?"

As soon as Minkus left, Melanie watched as Shawn became focused on Minkus's hamburger and Cory continued on with his rant about being too busy on the weekends

"I mean; my weekends are jam-packed. I have no spare time." Cory said

"Minkus left his hamburger here." Shawn licked his lips.

"I get up Saturday morning and I watch ' _X-men'_."

"It's very hard for me to be alone with Minkus's hamburger."

"My next stop is the comic book store."

"Especially when it's sitting there begging for more salt."

"Then in the afternoon I hang out with you guys."

"I don't know if this is a personality disorder with me or what." Melanie watched as Shawn poured the all the salt from the salt shaker onto the burger.

"Then it's home for Saturday night pizza night."

"But I'm never happy unless I'm doing stuff like this." Shawn now slabbed some pudding on top of the salt.

"And then it's four hours of video games and it's a good night."

"I don't mean just a little happy."

"Where's a spare minute?"

"I mean, I'll have this moment and know it was a good day." Shawn finished as he placed the bun back on top of the burger.

"I can't take the pressure of a father/son softball game." Cory explained and Shawn nodded in agreement.

"Oh, I hate those."

"They take it so seriously."

"I know," Shawn agreed, "My dad always screams and yells like it's the most important thing in the world."

"And they always get injured," Cory added.

"To us it's only a game. To them it's a guest shot on 'Rescue 911." Shawn laughed.

"The trouble with fathers," Minkus began, "is they sometimes try to live vicariously through their children,"

"Okay, Minkus," Shawn said as he gave him a weird look, "That's enough quality. Take your hamburger and go to your table."

"Hey," Minkus exclaimed as he placed his tray back down, "did you do anything to my hamburger?"

"Yeah. Sure." Shawn laughed nervously as his legs quickly bounced up and down, "Like doing stuff to his hamburger gives me my jollies."

"Look, guys" Minkus cried, "Shaquille O'Neal."

"Ooh, where." Shawn and Cory said as they turned their heads. Melanie, however, continued to eat her lunch not even bothering to look. From the corner of her eye she watched as Minkus lifted up the two hamburgers and dropped them back down

"Gee, I guess we just missed him." Shawn said before pointing to the other side of the cafeteria, "Hey, Minkus, isn't that Stephen Hawking?"

"Where?" Minkus exclaimed, turning his head to look and Shawn switched the two burgers, "Oh, darn. I missed him too. Well, see ya."

"Why do they think he's so much smarter than us?" Shawn laughed as he took a bite of his burger only to freeze.

"Because he is," Melanie said as she looked at Shawn's face with a smile, "Isn't he?"

And Shawn nodded.

~8~

Melanie listened to Topanga and Cory talk about the game on Saturday and couldn't help but frown. Yes, she was jealous. She was jealous that they got to spend time with their dad's and she never could. She was jealous that Cory could even say that he was glad that he didn't have to go to the game because he saw his dad every day and was able to have a tradition. She was jealous that she couldn't play ball with her dad, or even pass a ball to her dad.

"What's the big deal? Maybe your dad didn't feel like playing?" Shawn asked as he looked at Cory.

"Maybe he didn't feel like playing alone." Cory stated as Melanie got up from the table and left the cafeteria.

Cory and Shawn looked at Melanie's empty seat in shock before looking at each other.

"What's wrong with her?"

~8~

Cory and Shawn cornered Topanga as soon as class had ended.

"What can I do for you?" She asked, "Melanie will be expecting me soon. We walk home together; she'll notice if I'm not there."

"Listen, we have a question." Shawn said and he shifted the books in his hand, "Mel left the lunchroom today and she's never done that before."

"It's probably because we were talking about the game." Topanga replied, "Her father has never taken her to one of the softball games. She normally goes with us but this year she wasn't able to. Her younger sister was sick."

"Mel's dad has never taken her to a softball game?" Cory asked softly.

"Correct."

~8~

Melanie laughed as she walked back to Topanga's house with Topanga and her father. Her hair was falling out of the braid she had put it in and she was covered in dirt. Topanga was no different; she, too, was covered in dirt and her hair was in a drooping ponytail.

"Thanks for inviting me to the rematch with Cory and his team." Melanie smiled.

"You're always welcome." Topanga replied with a smile, "Plus, you missed the true game, and even though we won, it still felt different without having you there."

"Celebratory ice cream for the losing team?" Melanie asked as she linked arms with Topanga.

"Celebratory ice cream."

* * *

 **Double update!**

 **MarvelWorksWonders: I like your idea. Did you mean that Melanie would have adopted Maya when she was a baby or her current age? I'm not sure if that's the route I'm going to go, but I really like your idea and it's still an option. There are still six seasons left to decide what to do.**

 **Vpp2002: I'm really glad you like my story so much!**

 **Thank you for all your reviews and don't be afraid to review!**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	13. Once In Love With Amy

"Al washes a car in six minutes." Mr. Feeny began as Melanie scribbled down her work on the piece of paper in front of her, "Fred washes the same car in eight minutes. How long will it take Al and Fred to wash the car together?"

"Piece of cake." Cory stated as he leaned back in his seat.

"Think about it, Mr. Matthews." Mr. Feeny lectured.

"I don't have to think about it, Mr. Feeny. It's simple." Cory explained and Melanie rolled her eyes.

Looking down at the problem, Melanie started to try and solve it using a different way each time. She was halfway done solving one of her problems when Minkus's voice caught her attention.

"It's four and a half minutes. Hold your applause please."

Melanie looked at Mr. Feeny, who looked down at his watch,

"Mr. Minkus, you're wrong."

"Wrong?" Minkus asked as he leaned forward in his desk, "As in not right?"

"You know the laws of averages better than I do. It was bound to catch up with you." Mr. Feeny tried to console Minkus, who seemed to be frozen in shock.

Melanie watched as Minkus stood up from his seat and walked to the classroom door.

"Where are you going?" Mr. Feeny asked.

"Nurse."

"Minkus, you're wrong." Shawn murmured as he stared at the door.

"I've been waiting to hear those words since pre-school," Cory sighed happily.

"Does anyone else have any thoughts on this problem?" Mr. Feeny asked and Topanga closed her eyes and leaned back,

"Om," She hummed, "I'm channeling the ancient Egyptian mathematician who first solved this problem."

Melanie watched in fascination as Topanga gurgled, grabbed her pencil, continued to gurgle, and start to write down the work for the problem.

"Check, please." Shawn snapped his fingers and Melanie lightly hit his arm.

"Be nice." She said before focusing her gaze upon Mr. Feeny who had picked up Topanga's paper.

"All right, Miss. Lawrence. Let's see what you've come up with."

Mr. Feeny looked down at the paper before back up in shock,

"Well, oddly enough you and your metaphysical lab partner have arrived at the correct answer."

"Let me see that." Cory said as he leaned forward only for Topanga to roar as she turned to face him.

"Nice demon." He said as he patted her head.

"Interesting, isn't it, Mr. Matthews." Mr. Feeny said as he folded Topanga's paper, "Mr. Minkus didn't get the correct answer but Miss. Lawrence did. You would do well to consider that in your search for your answer."

"She's cheating," Cory whined, "She copies off of dead guys."

~8~

"How did you even solve that problem?" Melanie asked Topanga as she sat in Topanga's room holding Stephanie.

"I just channeled that mathematician. He was very nice, you know." Topanga said as she held out a spoon with baby food on it for Stephanie.

"You need to show me how to do that." Melanie said, wiping Stephanie's face after she ate the spoonful.

"Yes. I will after we finish feeding Stephanie." Topanga agreed and Melanie smiled.

"Thanks for letting me stay here with Steph for the night."

"Anytime." Topanga smiled, "You and Steph are like the sisters I never had."

"Wanna eat some cake." Melanie asked as she shifted Steph on to hip.

"Definitely."

~8~

Melanie and Topanga sat in the kitchen eating some vanilla cake. Hearing the phone ring, the two girls looked at each other before playing a quick game of rock-paper-scissors; loser has to get the phone.

"Yes," Melanie exclaimed as she won.

Topanga groaned and went over to the phone while Melanie gave a cackle and continued to eat her cake.

"Melanie, someone's on the phone asking for you." She heard Topanga call and she looked up from her cake.

"Okay, coming." Melanie put her fork down and turned to face Stephanie who was staring at her, "Listen, Steph. This is my cake. You can't have any. Don't even think about it."

Walking over to Topanga, she gave Steph the 'I'm-watching-you' sign.

"Make sure she doesn't eat my cake." She told Topanga and Topanga nodded.

"Hello?" Melanie asked into the phone.

"Mel, hey."

"Shawn, how'd you know I was at Topanga's."

"That's not important. What's important is that I'm watching Morgan and I don't know what to do."

"Oh, okay." Melanie paused to think before continuing, "Well, Morgan likes to play with her dolls."

"Not gonna happen."

"Okay, well play a card game then."

"What kind of card game?" Shawn asked suspiciously.

"Something she'll understand."

"Like…"

"Go Fish."

"Okay, I think I got the idea. Thanks, Mel."

"You're not gonna play Go Fish are you?"

"Nope."

Hanging up, Melanie walked back to the table and froze. Stephanie's face was covered with vanilla icing and a very smug Topanga sat next to her.

"What did you do?" Melanie gasped.

"I must have forgotten to not to let her eat any of your cake."

"Why," Melanie exclaimed dramatically, "Has our friendship come to this?"

Topanga laughed and Melanie sneakily smeared some icing across her check causing Topanga to freeze and looked at Melanie with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, it's on."

~8~

"You cheated last night," Melanie laughed as he walked into Mr. Feeny's classroom with Topanga.

"Only because you cheated." Topanga responded with a smile.

"I demand a rematch. But this time, we're gonna bake our own cake so your mom won't get mad at us again.

"Sounds good." Topanga said and the two went off to their seats.

"Al washes a car in six minutes. Fred washes the same car in eight." Mr. Feeny announced as he walked to the front of the room, "How long will it take them to wash the car together? And the answer is still not seven, Mr. Matthews."

"I know, sir." Cory nodded.

"What else do you know." Mr. Feeny questioned as he folded his hands in front of him and leaned on his desk.

"I know why you gave us this word problem." Cory admitted.

"To suck the fun out of our lives." Shawn said and Melanie laughed.

"Yeah, that, but the main reason is to get us to stop thinking like kids and start thinking like adults." Cory explained, "I know that there's not always one right answer. There may not even be an answer at all."

"Startling. And how did you arrive at that conclusion?" Mr. Feeny asked with a smile.

"I found out that sometimes we need to learn to think differently. That's how Topanga knew. Because she thinks differently. _Really_ differently."

Melanie could see the beaming smile on Topanga's face from the back of the room and gave a knowing smile.

"Well, Mr. Matthews," Mr. Feeny smiled, "I'm impressed. In all the time we've known each other, I don't think I've ever been so impressed."

"Thank, Mr. Feeny." Cory said and Mr. Feeny started to walk slowly around the room.

"In the course of your education, you have been taught to look for the right answer; but you also must know that in life, many times the right answer is, that there isn't one. This is an especially valuable lesson for you, Mr. Minkus." Mr. Feeny said as he approached Minkus, "So, I'm afraid your calculations are all for naught."

"Not necessarily," Minkus said as he continued to look at the board, "I think I may have inadvertently discovered the secret of time travel."

Melanie felt her jaw drop as she looked at the board.

"Nope," She murmured as she shook her head, "Too much work for me."

* * *

 **Hi!**

 **Thank you all for voicing your ideas for GMW and please continue to voice your ideas!**

 **I really love everyone's idea and I really enjoy/love reading all of your reviews.**

 **Writing reviews makes me want to update faster so you have more to read.**

 **Another thing: What to do about Angela?**

 **Does anyone have any guesses or ideas?**

 **Seriously though, thank you all for reading this story. I was so excited to update that I couldn't fall asleep last night.**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	14. She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not

Melanie walked into Mr. Feeny's class with Topanga. They were currently planning what they were going to do afterschool, since Melanie was going to be staying over at her house again.

"Oh, look," Melanie said as she approached her desk and Topanga went to hers, "Someone left me a flower."

This caught Shawn's attention,

"What do you mean 'someone left you a flower'." Shawn asked as he turned to face her.

"Exactly that." Melanie said looking down at the origami flower in her hand, "Look."

Staring down at the flower, Shawn felt anger and jealousy build up in his chest. He didn't know what type of flower it was, but he was betting that it had something to do with Minkus. Once Melanie thought that Shawn had stared at her flower long enough, she turned around and walked towards Minkus's desk.

"Hey, Minkus." She said as she held the flower in her hand, "Did you happen to leave this paper flower on my desk?"

"No," Minkus responded as he kept his head buried in his book, not meeting Melanie's eyes.

"Oh."

Looking around, Melanie spotted Topanga approaching them, holding a different origami flower.

"Stuart?" She asked once she got to Minkus's desk.

"Yes?"

"Did you leave this paper rose on my desk?"

"No."

"Oh."

Melanie gave Topanga a shrug and looked down at her flower. It was really, truly beautiful.

"Actually it isn't a rose." Minkus said and she looked up, "It's a camellia, and yours is a hibiscus."

Turning his attention to Topanga, he began to explain what the flower meant,

"In the language of flowers, a white Camilla means perfect loveliness." He then turned his attention to Melanie, "The language also states that a hibiscus means rare and delicate beauty. At least, that's what I've read."

"Well," Topanga began, "Then the person who left this for me must be a sensitive and caring soul."

Melanie nodded in agreement and muttered a quick 'thanks' before walking back to her seat, still admiring the flower.

"Is it just me," Cory said as Melanie sat down next to Shawn on his desk, "or is love blooming among the nerd set?"

"I don't know," Shawn said as he threw his arm around Melanie and stared at the love-sick look on Minkus's face, "but what I do know is that Minkus better back off. The only time I've ever seen a look like that was before Bambi's mother caught that bullet."

"Not dating you, Hunter." Melanie hummed even though she didn't remove his arm.

"What a movie they'd make." Cory said before pretending to be an announcer, "It's Minkus in Love. Watch what happens when forty-eight pounds of near-sighted geek meets ten pounds of hair from a parallel universe."

"Where am I in that movie?" Melanie asked as she looked at Cory in confusion.

"Nowhere." Cory replied with a shrug, "You've already been dibbed."

Melanie gaped at Cory before quickly pulling away from Shawn.

"Uh-uh. No way." Melanie said as she shook her head, "I am _not_ an object and I certainly don't get 'dibbed' on."

"I agree with Melanie," She heard Topanga say, "You should never treat someone as an object; nor should you judge people by their outward appearance. I think people who judge other people by their outward appearances are shallow and ignorant and will have much to answer for in their next life."

Swiftly walking to her seat, Melanie ignored Shawn and Cory's apologizes and patiently waited for Mr. Feeny to enter the room.

'Chill, Mel." Shawn said as he turned to face her, "We were just joking."

"You weren't joking when you dibbed her." Cory pointed out and Shawn glared at him.

"Not helping, Cor."

Melanie ignored what Shawn and focused on Mr. Feeny as he entered the room.

"Good morning, class. I trust you had a good weekend."

"I sure did. My mom baked brownies and my dad rented two monster movie videos." Cory said with a smile.

"I sold blood." Shawn admitted happily.

"This morning we have a guest lecturer." Mr. Feeny continued, "The school board feels that since you're all starting the seventh grade next year it would behoove you to have an advanced taste of the experience."

Hearing a knock on the door, Melanie turned to see who it was and gave a big smile.

 _From what I've heard, Eric knows how to respect a lady. Maybe he can teach Cory and Shawn how to respect one too,_ Melanie thought as he walked to the center of the room.

"I thought the school said they were sending over good students." Mr. Feeny confessed as he looked at Eric in confusion.

"Nice," Eric laughed, "The problem with smart kids is they all have goals to pursue. I'm just looking to get out of Algebra."

"Lucky me." Mr. Feeny sighed, "Proceed."

"Hi, kids, I'm Eric. I'm in the tenth grade at Adams High. The school you'll all be going to next year."

"At least all of us who pass." Minkus stated and Shawn rolled his eyes.

"Hey, Minkus, pass this." Shawn gave an armpit fart.

"Please, class, give Mr. Matthews your attention." Mr. Feeny said.

"Matthews?" Melanie smirked as she heard Topanga's surprised voice.

"Oh, yeah. I'm Cory's older brother. I got the good hair." Eric stated as he ran his fingers through his hair and smiled, "Anyway, next year you guys will be seventh graders or, as we upper classmen will be calling you, phlegmballs."

"Now, there's gonna be a few things you're gonna need to know for the survival on the mean streets of high school—" Minkus interrupted Eric's speech,

"Will the exam process be more rigorous?"

There was a long pause and Melanie gave Eric a weird look.

"Yeah, uh, Parties are gonna be a lot better too because you can stay out later." Melanie rolled her eyes as Cory and Shawn cheered, "And, of course, cool clothes are a must."

"For that young detention sitter on the go." Mr. Feeny stated.

"Yeah. Uh, you're gonna want to know where the parking lot is too because that's where the most popular kids hang and you're gonna want to hang with them unless, of course, you want to look like a complete nerd. No offense, Mink." Eric leanly apologized as Minkus glared at him.

"I have a question," Cory said as he raised his hand.

"Who cares?"

"This isn't like home, Eric. In here, when I raise my hand, you have to answer."

"I do?" Eric asked as he turned to Mr. Feeny.

"I do, too." And Eric faced back to Cory.

"All right, now next year, when you're sixteen and driving to school, would you be willing to give a ride to a certain few select phlegmballs?" Cory asked as he referenced to him, Shawn, and Melanie.

"Do I have to?" Eric asked Mr. Feeny.

"I wouldn't."

"Drop dead." Eric said and Melanie held in a laugh as Cory pretended to die and dropped to the floor.

"What do I owe you?" Mr. Feeny asked.

~8~

"I have some freshly baked brownies here. I thought you might enjoy them." Topanga announced as she stood in the doorway of Cory's house.

"Thanks for drooping them off." Cory said as he tried to take the brownies but Topanga held onto them.

"I thought, perhaps, I could stay here and enjoy them with you."

"Milk's in the fridge, babe." Shawn from the kitchen table as he took a bit of a brownie, "Hey, not bad."

"Melanie made them." Topanga said as she poured Cory and Shawn some milk.

"What? I never knew she could bake."

"She often comes over and bakes different treats with me." Topanga said.

"Speaking of Mel, where is she?" Shawn asked and Topanga shrugged.

"She said that she'd be here soon. She had to wait for the babysitter to come over before she could leave."

"Hey, cool braid." Morgan said as she walked down the stairs and towards Topanga.

"You like it? I can put one in your hair."

"You can?" Morgan asked in awe.

"Sure." Topanga nodded, "Do you have some ribbons and a rubber band?"

"Upstairs in my room." Morgan said before turning to Cory, "You know, I'd like to see more of her and less of him."

As soon as Topanga and Morgan went upstairs, Shawn faced Cory with a smirk.

'What?" Cory asked as he ate a brownie.

"Comes over with brownies, tries to get good with your sister." Shawn raised his eyebrows.

"So?"

"So, Cory and Topanga sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Shawn sang and Cory folded his arms.

Cory opened his mouth to respond but was cut off as a very flustered Melanie bursted through the door.

"Where's Topanga?" She asked as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Cory and Shawn stared at her before Shawn finally responded.

"She's upstairs. In Morgan's room."

Not sparing them a second glance, Melanie raced up the stairs and into Morgan's room. She needed to tell Topanga what she just got.

~8~

"Melanie, can you play dollies with me?" Morgan asked as Topanga braided her hair and Melanie sat in front of them.

"Maybe another time." Melanie said as Topanga finished Morgan's hair, "I need to get back to Stephanie."

"Okay," Morgan nodded before grabbing Topanga and Melanie's hand, "Let's go show my mommy how pretty I look."

Melanie followed Morgan down the stairs, still ignoring Shawn and Cory.

"Mommy! Mommy, look!" Morgan squealed, "Topanga made my hair pretty."

"She sure did," Mrs. Matthews exclaimed as she looked at the braid in Morgan's hair.

"Yep. Brownies, braids—she does it all but, uh, now she has to do it all at home." Cory said as he pushed Topanga out the door.

"But I was hoping I could stay." Topanga frowned.

"You can't. We're over the legal hair limit of this room." Cory said and shut the door.

Melanie rolled her eyes and walked over to the door,

"Bye, Miss. Matthews. Eric."

"You can stay, Mel." Cory said and Shawn nodded in agreement.

"You can stay, Mel." She mimicked before leaving the house.

Eric turned and faced Shawn and Cory,

"What did you two _do_?"

~8~

"Topanga, what are we doing?" Melanie whispered.

She was standing next to Topanga in the brushes of Cory's backyard. She had originally planned on leaving with Topanga, only to find Topanga hiding there.

"Shh!"

Melanie watched as Topanga's attention switched onto Eric as he walked out holding a garbage bag.

"Ooh, does someone have a crush?" Melanie teased and Topanga blushed.

"Hush."

Melanie looked down at her watch and checked to make sure that an hour had not passed already. Her parents didn't leave her any extra money to pay the babysitter if she stayed overtime. Looking back up, she noticed that Eric's talk with Mr. Feeny had ended and as soon as he looked over at her and Topanga, Topanga grabbed her arm and pulled her away with her.

"Topanga and Eric sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Melanie sang and Topanga gave her a shove.

~8~

"Are you sure this will work?" Topanga asked and Melanie nodded.

"Yes, I'm absolutely positive it will work. Look, I'll come with you if you want." Melanie said and Topanga gave a light nod.

"Hello, Cory." Topanga greeted as she approached Shawn and Cory's table.

Melanie watched from the vending machine as Topanga tried to convince Cory to let her come over and watch the movie she had gotten Topanga.

She still couldn't believe that her parents rented that disk for her.

"It's Melanie's tape. She said that I can't let it out of my sight." She heard Topanga say and she slowly made her way to the table.

"Ok, what time should we be over?"

"Our VCR is broken. I'll have to bring it to your house."

"Why can't we watch it at Mel's house?" Cory asked and Melanie quickly jumped in.

"My parents just came home from a business trip and they want the house to be absolutely silent. They're very tired."

"All right, how about four?" Cory caved and Melanie and Topanga silently cheered.

"That will give me time to get home and get ready," Topanga whispered and Melanie lightly stomped her foot as Cory and Shawn gave her a look.

"Get ready?"

"I mean get the tape. That's all. Bye." Topanga said before she left.

"Where are you going, Mel?" Shawn asked as he saw Melanie turn to leave.

"Topanga." Melanie left.

"Man, she's still angry." Shawn said before looking at Cory, "Oh, man, Topanga's got a thang for you."

~8~

Melanie rang the doorbell and shifted Stephanie on her hip. The stupid babysitter canceled on her and instead of watching the movie with her friends, she was stuck watching Stephanie. Not that she didn't like her sister; she loved her, but having to watch her and take care of her everyday got really tiresome.

"Hi," Melanie said as Eric opened the door, "Cory called and said Topanga wasn't feeling well and wanted someone to walk her home."

"What?" Eric laughed nervously, "No, she's feeling fine. I mean, just look at her."

It was a well-known fact that if you hurt one of Melanie's friends, she would hurt you.

"I think I'd like to go home." Topanga said as she stepped out from behind Eric.

Melanie opened her mouth only for Cory to cut her off,

"Is she gone?"

Seeing that Topanga was still there, his attention turned to the front door where Melanie stood, unamused.

"Oh, no."

Melanie watched as a silent, crushed Topanga walked out the front door and Melanie closed the door before following her.

"It'll be okay, Pangy." Melanie said as Stephanie reached for Topanga.

"Yeah." Topanga sighed and took Stephanie.

"Wanna watch _Godzilla Goes to College_?" Melanie asked, hopefully.

"Sure."

~8~

Melanie rested her head in her hand as she listened to Mr. Feeny read a poem about some guy named Sam McGee. Topanga was so crushed about what had happened and they had spent the night at her house watching _Godzilla Goes to College_ and eating brownies. Hearing a knock at the door, Melanie turned and watched as Eric walked into the classroom.

"So, uh, a couple of days ago I pretty much covered the big high school picture but, uh, I left out one little detail." Eric said as he leaned on Mr. Feeny's desk, "You've all know each other since, like, Kindergarten but next year there's gonna be maybe nine or ten other sixth grade classes from different schools making up your seventh grade class and you're not gonna know those kids. A lot of them are gonna think differently than you."

"What do you mean?" Minkus asked.

"Well, do you smoke cigarettes?"

"No."

"A lot of kids in your new school will. A lot of them are gonna pressure you into it. They're gonna tell you how cool it is to smoke. You wanna be cool, don't you?"

"More than you could ever know." Minkus admitted.

"Maybe you'll smoke."

"I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Because according to New England Journal of Medicine smoking reduces lung capacity Ieads to emphysema and causes heart attack and lung cancer." Minkus explained and Eric shrugged.

"Well, what if she thought it was cool? Then would you smoke?" Eric asked as he pointed to Topanga.

"In a heartbeat."

"Welcome to the world of peer pressure. So he smokes. Do you think that's cool?" Eric asked Topanga and she looked at Minkus in disgust.

"I think anyone who smokes is a disgusting pig."

"I'm trying to quite." Minkus exclaimed.

"Well, it's not that easy, Minkus. There's all kinds of pressure. I mean, what about alcohol?" Eric asked.

"Could you use somebody else as an example, please?" Minkus sighed.

"Sure," Eric walked over to Cory, "What about alcohol?"

"What about it?" Cory asked.

"What about drugs?" Eric asked as he looked at Shawn.

"Hey, calm down, Eric." Cory said as he watched Eric pace the room, "We're not into that stuff. All we like is baseball and comic books."

"Yeah, that's what you like now. But that's going to change just like you're changing schools." Eric said, "Just like you're going to start feeling a lot of new stuff inside you you've not really gonna understand."

"How do you know?" Cory asked softly.

"Because you're growing up." Eric said and he looked at Topanga, "Some of you have already started."

~8~

Melanie walked through the cafeteria doors and over to Shawn and Cory.

"Listen," She said, ignoring the awkward look they were giving her as they held hands, "I've decided to forgive you but you guys need to know that I'm not an object."

"So we all good?" Cory asked, cautiously.

"Yeah, we're good." Melanie smiled, "Anyway, I need some help with grabbing my stuff from my locker. Are either of you available?"

"We have a deal. We _have_ a deal." Cory said to Shawn and Melanie looked at him.

"It's just really quick. I need to give some papers to Mrs. Stein."

"Mrs. Stein? The music teacher?" Shawn asked and Melanie nodded.

"Sure, I'll help you." Shawn said and he got up.

"We have a deal! We have a deal!" Cory exclaimed as he held onto Shawn's hand and dragged the lunch table with him as Shawn tried leave the room and follow Melanie.

* * *

 **Fun fact: Melanie's name was originally going to be Paige**

 **Thanks for all the reviews!**

 **Ana**


	15. The B-Team of Life

"There it is, the list." Cory said as he watched Coach Jones post the list of people who made the basketball team on his office door and shifted the ball in his hands, "Who made first string, who made second string, and who didn't even make the basketball team."

"What do you think is worst—second string or not making the team?" Shawn asked as he leaned against a pair of lockers.

"Second string." Cory said without hesitation, "What do you think is worse—second string or falling out of an airplane and landing on the Empire State Building on your eye?"

"If you make second string, you still have to sit on the bench in front of everyone and your uniform's always clean and you always get a high number like eight hundred and sixty-seven." Shawn pointed out.

"Not something any of us have to worry about, however." Cory said, "We're not second string, bench-warming B-Team."

"I made the B-Team! I made the B-Team!" Minkus exclaimed as he raced over to Cory, Shawn, Harris, and Melanie. "Can you believe? Wait till I tell my father!"

"Congrats, Minkus." Melanie said just as Minkus raced off.

"Why don't we check the list? Just to make sure coach spelled our names right." Harris said with a nervous smile.

Melanie watched as Shawn walked over to the list and pointed his finger at his name,

"Hunter, Shawn: A-Team." Shawn turned around and gave jazz hands, "Surpriserama."

"Robertson, comma, Harris: A-Team. Air Harris. I liked it. I'm going to have to shave this." Harris thought as he placed his hand on his hair.

"Matthews, Cory: A-Team." Cory quickly looked again, "Wait a minute, they spelled 'A' with a 'B'!"

"Maybe you're reading the wrong line." Melanie said and quickly went over to the paper, "Matthews… B-Team."

"B-Team?" Shawn scoffed, "Come on, guys. It's got to be a typo."

"It's handwritten!" Cory exclaimed, "I'm on the B-Team, second string. Just drop me on the Empire State Building."

"I don't understand why this is such a big deal." Melanie stated as she tightened her ponytail.

Which was true. Melanie didn't really have a care for basketball; it didn't make that much sense to her. She preferred soccer and baseball to football, basketball, and hockey. That didn't mean that she wouldn't support Cory and Shawn when they played a game, she would always cheer them on.

"Yeah, Mel's right." Shawn said as he took Cory's basketball, "It's no big deal. I mean, it's not like you're going to lose your friends."

"Right." Harris agreed before he a Shawn bolted.

Cory looked at Melanie and she shrugged,

"You'll be fine."

~8~

"Homo Sapiens," Mr. Feeny said as he stood behind Minkus, Barbara, and Shawn.

"Modern man," Mr. Feeny said and he moved to stand behind Minkus, "As you can see, he walked fully upright, had opposable thumbs, and was known for-"

"A mother who labels his underwear." Shawn interrupted and Minkus shot him a glare,

"At least I have more than one pair."

"Moving back through history we devolve to the Neanderthaloids who made and used tools." Melanie laughed as Barbara hit Shawn with the 'tool' she was holding, "Now, can anybody tell me what was going on before the Neanderthaloids? Anybody?"

Minkus's hand shot up in the air.

"Anybody but Mr. Minkus?"

Minkus rapidly waved his hand.

"Take it away, Minkus."

"A billion years ago, the world breathlessly anticipated the emergence of life from the pre-biological organic compounds of the sea." Minkus informed the class and Shawn lightly hit him on the head with the 'tool'. "Ow."

"You can take your seats. Thank you." Mr. Feeny dismissed, "What Mr. Minkus is saying is that we were waiting for the lowest form of life to crawl out of the slime."

"I'm here." Cory walked through the door and the class laughed, "What?"

"Mr. Feeny was just talking about you." Shawn explained and Cory nodded.

"I was in with the basketball coach. I have a note. Did I miss anything?"

"Two hundred million years of human evolution." Mr. Feeny said and Cory sat down.

"Cool."

"So, what's the deal." Shawn asked and Melanie leaned forward.

"It wasn't a mistake. I'm second string."

"Hey, you too? Congratulations!" Minkus exclaimed as he shook Cory's hand, "Did you tell your dad?"

 _So cute,_ Melanie thought with a smile. No, she didn't like Minkus in _that_ way, but more as a little brother. She found his enthusiasm to the simple things and small achievements adorable.

"No, I happen to like my dad."

Hearing the bell ring, Melanie got her stuff and went to leave, only to stop when she saw that Cory wasn't making a move to leave.

"Cheer up, Cor. It isn't the end of the world."

~8~

"Check it out." Shawn said as he and Melanie slid into their seats next to Cory, "Mel and I dug out this old edition of Sports illustrated for you."

"I already know I'm not on the cover." Cory stated and Melanie slid the magazine over to him.

"Lighten up. There's an article in here on great sports figures who sat on the bench before they got to play." Melanie said.

"Their big break." Shawn corrected and Melanie shrugged.

"Really?" Cory said as he flipped through the pages.

"Yeah," Shawn nodded, "It says that Steve Young sat on the 49ers' bench for five years before he became the starting quarterback."

"And then he won MVP," Harris added as he sat down.

"Man, this is good news." Cory smiled.

"I knew you'd like it. See, Mel, it wasn't a waste of five hours looking for this. Look at that smile." Shawn said as he pulled Melanie close to him.

"Shawn, we spent _three_ hours looking for it, and it would have taken less time if you hadn't looked through every magazine that had sports players on the cover."

"Wow," Cory said in awe, "These are, like, major guys."

"And they all came from the…brink?" Melanie guessed and Shawn nodded at her.

"If they can do it, you can do it." Shawn cheered.

"Yeah! That'll prove I'm worth something." Cory exclaimed.

"Maybe coach'll put you in the game today." Harris encouraged.

"Maybe you'll score twenty points." Shawn added and Cory nodded dreamily.

"Yeah, maybe then I'll be on the A-Team permanently. I'm going to be season MVP. I'm going to be unstoppable!" Cory stood up and pulled his button down shirt apart to reveal his uniform.

"Matthews, why are you suited up? Second- string doesn't go to the away games." Coach Jones pointed out and Cory slumped back down, disappointed.

~8~

"I'm telling you, Feeny's a maniac behind the wheel." Cory said as he walked over to Shawn, Melanie, and Harris, "I didn't know a Gremlin could go that fast."

"No way. Feeny? The guy takes twently minutes to peel an orange." Shawn said in disbelief.

"Hey, I was in the car. He was clipping corners, driving on the sidewalk, catching air off speed bumps." Cory acted out.

"Our Mr. Feeny burning rubber? I think not." Minkus crossed his arms.

"I think what we may see in the classroom just may be the Clark Kent side of Mr. Feeny." Cory nodded.

Melanie and Shawn gave Cory a 'really' look before noticing Mr. Feeny and Coach Jones walking towards them. Melanie's mouth dropped in shock seeing that Mr. Feeny was wearing a leather jacket, shades, and leather gloves _._

"I would've had you if that light hadn't turned yellow." Coach Jones said and Feeny shrugged.

"You snooze, you lose."

* * *

 **Hi!**

 **I glad/hope you're enjoying this story.**

 **Thank you for all your reviews.**

 **Guest: I don't think that I'm gonna make Eric and Melanie date because of their age difference. However, I really like your idea and maybe, just maybe, I might make that happen when they get older. Jealous Shawn would be fun to see.**

 **Guest: I don't know if I'm gonna be getting Melanie and Shawn together the exact same time (as in episode) that Shawn and Angela got together. I think that I may get them together a little bit earlier.**

 **Cutegurl1125: By daughter do you mean Maya? But, yes! You have figured out what I am going to do when Melanie gets into high school. Maybe Harley will have a part in it? ~ do I smell some foreshadowing~.**


	16. Model Family

"Once I wished I was a duck, as most ducks have lots of luck. They swim around all day in a pool and never have to go to school." Melanie watched the black and white image of a boy say on the TV.

"Beaver, I think that's very, very cute." The mother smiled.

"Hey, Beav, you still think you'll get a prize or that?" The brother asked.

"Sure, Wally. I'm the only kid in the third grade who wrote a poem!" Beaver exclaimed and fake laughs of a pretend audience filled the TV before the screen turned black.

"So, how do you feel Ward and June handled their family problem?" Mr. Feeny asked as he leaned on his desk.

"They were too perfect." Shawn answered.

"Too TV." Cory agreed.

"I agree with you, Mr. Matthews." Mr. Feeny said and Cory looked at him suspiciously,

"That's not like you."

"In fact, you brought me to today's assignment."

"That's like you."

"Back in the prehistoric 1950s, when Cleavers strode the earth. The U.S. Census indicated that a model American family had a mother, a father, and two children." Mr. Feeny explained and Melanie nodded in agreement.

That's why she only had one sibling.

"Leftovers." Cory announced and Mr. Feeny looked at him in confusion.

"What are you talking about, Mr. Matthews?"

"Well, last year in fifth grade we divided up into families and solved problems. It's sixth grade now, Mr. Feeny. Families are yesterday's news." Cory nodded.

"Very well." Mr. Feeny sighed, "This year, I shall let you form into urban gangs."

"Cool!" Cory exclaimed as he straightened up.

"Each gang will have a mother, a father, and two children." Cory slammed his head onto his desk,

"You just love dangling that string of hope in front of us and yanking it away, don't you?"

"I had a cat," Mr. Feeny admitted before turning towards the board.

"I bet it hung itself." Shawn whispered harshly to Cory.

"In this assignment, each participant will help the other to become an ideal family member. For instance, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Minkus…" Mr. Feeny paused as he debated something in his head, "And Miss. Strong will be brothers and sister."

"Oh, no." Minkus and Shawn muttered as they slammed their heads into their hands.

"Trust me. You are going to enjoy this. I know I shall." Mr. Feeny smiled.

"Wait, Mr. Feeny," Melanie said as she raised her hand, "I thought you said that the ideal family had _two_ kids."

"Yes, Miss. Strong, I did say that. However, there are an uneven number of people in this class and sacrifices had to be made."

"Hold on, I can't be Melanie's brother." Shawn protested, "I'm supposed to be her husband."

"Well, then, Mr. Hunter. Maybe this can be a great way to find out what type of traits she admires in a man. You see, you will each be writing a profile of a model brother and most of the time, what they write is what they truly admire in a person. You will then become that model brother or sister."

"You mean Shawn has to act exactly how I want him to?" Minkus asked, excitedly.

"Yes, but for your group he has to combined both of your and Miss. Strong's thoughts; just as you both will have to do." Mr. Feeny said with a soft smile.

"You guys are gonna have to be Minkus's brother." Cory laughed as he turned to face Melanie and Shawn, "Nerd-o-rama. I'd hate to be the guy who had them for sons."

"Funny you should say that, Mr. Matthews, or, as I like to call you, dad." Mr. Feeny said and he placed a hand on Cory's shoulder.

"He's gonna be my father?" Minkus asked.

"Yes!" Cory cheered.

"And Miss. Lawrence your mother."

"No!"

~8~

Melanie sat at Cory's kitchen table as she finished writing down her profile for Shawn and Minkus.

"I am Topanga's model husband." Cory started only for Shawn to interrupt him,

"I'm sorry." Shawn laughed, "I'm just flat out looking forward to this."

"I live my life in harmony," Cory continued, "with the physical and metaphysical world aligned with the Navajo spiritual path. Uh-huh." He jumped off the countertop and walked in front of Topanga, "Okay. Um, I could do that. I'd love to do that. There's just one thing that might throw this off just a smidge."

"What?" Topanga asked with wide eyes.

"I'm not a Navajo!" Cory exclaimed.

"You don't have to be a Native American to be in tune with nature." Topanga stated and Cory sighed.

"Don't you hate it when Mom and Dad fight?" Minkus asked Shawn and Melanie.

"No. Into it." Shawn responded, popping a chip into his mouth.

"They fight in a very interesting way." Melanie concluded looking up from her paper.

"Well, we're not fighting long cause I got something here that'll take the fight right out of Mom. Read it and weep, big hair." Cory said as he handed Topanga his paper.

"My model wife won't care how dirty my room gets, she will always let me win at video games, she will play street hockey at any time, day or night." Topanga looked at Cory, "Why don't you just marry Shawn?"

"Cause our kids would look like horses." Cory said after he and Shawn stared at each other.

"My turn," Minkus said and handed Melanie and Shawn a large stack of paper, "Here you go, bro, sis."

"Minkus, this is, like, forty pages." Shawn said as he flipped through the pages.

"Since I have no siblings, I spend many hours imagining what a younger brother, or sister, Minkus would act like." Minkus admitted.

"Maybe something like this." Shawn said and he flung his papers to the side.

"Here's mine." Melanie said as she handed Shawn and Minkus their papers, "They're not exactly the same since two people are not exactly alike."

"Funny… knows when to stop with the jokes go too far… doesn't ignore me around other people…nice… tries to do well in school…" Shawn trailed off.

"Smart, allows me to help him when he's in trouble, doesn't mind me giving him nuggies, nice, not so uptight." Minkus read and looked up at Melanie, "You got it, sis."

Cory, Shawn, Melanie, Topanga, and Minkus's head snapped towards the door as they heard it slam open. Melanie watched with confused as eyes as Eric posed after opening the door and then jumped on to the island.

"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful," He said and flipped his hair dramatically.

"He thought he felt her hot, mossy breath on his eye," Eric recited as he hopped off the island and dramatically looked away, "He blinked. She was gone. The beating of wings," His voice dropped to a whisper, "Obsession."

"Get help." Cory whispered back.

"I was discovered today." Eric announced as he lazily walked behind the island.

"You get discovered at the mall?" Shawn asked expectantly.

"How'd you know?" Eric asked.

"Did you pay ninety-dollars to get photos taken?" Melanie asked, bored.

"Yeah, you can't model without a portfolio." Eric said, giving Melanie a thumbs up.

"You were scammed." Cory stated, "They get you to pay all this money and you never hear from them again."

"Completely untrue." Minkus said, "It's not a scam."

"Yeah, listen to Minkus." Eric directed, "He's the smart one."

"I, too, was discovered at the mall." Minkus admitted, happily.

"Doh!" Eric moaned and he slammed his head on the kitchen table just as his parents and Morgan walked in.

"Eric, girls are gonna dump you all your life, so get over it." Morgan said before walking upstairs.

"He got scammed at the mall." Cory explained as he approached his parents.

"How?" Mr. Matthews asked.

"Well, some girl told him he was cute and he forked over ninety-dollars for modeling photos." Cory casually said.

"Ninety-dollars? Ninety-dollars!" Mr. Matthews exclaimed as he yanked Eric up by the back of his jacket.

Melanie watched in amusement as Mrs. Matthews got Mr. Matthews to come outside so they could talk. Melanie had never seen her parents argue before, but she had seen Topanga's. She basically lived at Topanga's house; it had become a second home to her and Stephanie.

~8~

"So, this family's crisis—the older, cooler brother wants to get a tattoo," Mr. Feeny patted Shawn's shoulder, "Take it away, younger, uncool brother."

 _My family is truly unique,_ Melanie thought as she looked around the circle. Shawn was wearing a dress shirt, a vest, khaki pants, dress shoes, a pair of glasses, and was sitting up straight in his seat while Minkus was slouched down in his. Minkus's giant shirt and pants practically concealed his small frame. Topanga was wearing a Phillies Jersey and Cory was wearing a Native American headband. Looking down, she frowned. She hated wearing dresses, but when she put Shawn's and Minkus's list together, they wanted a younger sister who was funny yet well-mannered, smart yet cool, and pretty. Fidgeting, she pulled the hem of her blue summer dress down and pulled her French braid over her shoulder.

"I can't fathom why any human being, in full possession of his faculties, would want to render himself permanently disfigured with so-called," Shawn pushed up his glasses, "Body art."

"Whoa," Shawn pulled his glasses off and ran his hand through his hair.

"What?" Cory asked.

"I'm such a good geek I scared myself." Shawn said before placing his glasses back on and smiling.

"Listen, pinhead," Minkus said and he pulled his fingers through his head, "It's my body and I'll do whatever I want with it unless, maybe you'd like to try and stop me, you woodchuck faced, nearsighted, underweight, future IRS auditor."

Melanie held in a laugh as Minkus forget that this was just an act and slammed Shawn.

"Mr. Minkus, I might remind you that eventually the bell will ring and he will be he, and you will be you, and natural selection will once again rule the blackboard jungle," Mr. Feeny warned and Minkus paled.

"Will five cover it?" He asked as he handed Shawn a five bucks.

"Hey, talk some more." Shawn said and he took the money.

"I feel that maybe you should wait before you get a tattoo." Melanie voiced, "It would be cool, but you're not really experienced at life yet. Also, dad told me that it might make companies not want to hire you."

"Listen up, sis," Minkus leaned forward so that he could see her, "I am very experienced in life. I can make myself Mac and Cheese without burning anything or getting hurt. As for a job, who wouldn't want to hire me. I'm a model."

"Okay, you live under our roof. We make the decisions. Tattoo, you, no." Topanga said as she made an 'X' with her arms.

"A person's body is his temple." Cory said with an ancient tone, "If our son wants to ornament his temple with a tattoo, let him worship in his own way. Nam myo ho renge kyo." Cory broke, "You are so bizarre!"

"I've decided, without benefit discussion with my spouse—because that's the kind of husband I know you'll be—the tattoo will have to wait." Topanga declared and Minkus ripped open his shirt, showing a large dragon tattoo on his bare chest.

"Whoa." Melanie gasped with wide eyes.

"Cool!" Shawn exclaimed.

"Stuart, a tattoo." Topanga placed her hand over her chest, "It speaks to me."

"Minkus, what's the deal?" Cory asked, agitated, "We agreed on no tattoo."

"Mr. Feeny's assignment was to solve a family problem and I decided to solve it my way." Minkus paused and nodded his head towards Shawn, "Well, actually, his way."

"Minkus, you've got a dark side. It speaks to me." Shawn said and he shook hands with Minkus.

"Let's not go overboard." Minkus closed his shirt up, "It's just a press-on."

"Great," Cory sighed, "Thanks for screwing up the assignment."

"On the contrary, Mr. Matthews." Mr. Feeny said, "Mr. Minkus didn't screw up the assignment at all."

"Yeah, but we had our family discussion all planned out, and he messed it up. He broke the rules."

"Which is exactly what happens in real families. There is no model household. There are no model parents." Mr. Feeny explained.

"I think the only way you can judge your family is by how much love there is in the home." Topanga said and Mr. Feeny nodded,

"Excellent point, Miss. Lawerence. A family is a living, breathing thing that requires constant adjustment and change."

"But Beaver's dad never changed." Cory pointed out, "He always knew what he was going to say."

"Beaver's dad wasn't real. Real fathers have to adapt. Real fathers don't have a script like Beaver's father did." Mr. Feeny explained.

"I guess it's easy to sound smart when you've got the best writers in Hollywood writing everything you say." Cory said and Mr. Feeny shrugged,

"I wouldn't know."

~8~

Melanie walked through the mall's food court with Shawn and Cory. She had her arms thrown over both of their shoulders and she was happy. Her parents had finally decided to watch Stephanie, allowing her to be able to hang out with her friends.

"Cory!" Someone called and they all looked over to see a man in a lobster suit looking at them.

"Cory, that lobster over there seems to know you." Shawn nodded and they cautiously made their way over towards the man.

"Boy, what kind of idiot would wear one of these getups at the mall?" Cory asked.

"Come here!" The lobster man hissed and Melanie froze, wide eyed,

"Apparently Eric."

"Eric, this may come as somewhat of a shock but, you're a lobster, dude." Shawn with a smile.

"Look, Jason an I invited some girls to watch me model." Eric panicked.

"Well, I hope they bring some slaw." Shawn said and he, Melanie, and Cory laughed.

"Listen," Eric hissed as he grabbed Shawn's neck with his claw, "You have to get rid of them!"

~8~

"Jason!" Cory called as he ran towards Jason with Melanie and Shawn following.

"Hey, come to see your brother up the lights too, huh?" Jason asked with a smile as two pretty girls sat on the bench in front of him.

"Yeah, but he had to leave." Cory said with a sad nod.

"Why? What happened?" Jason asked as the girls looked concerned.

"He's not feeling well." Melanie explained.

"Yeah, he's a little under the water." Shawn said and he, Melanie, and Cory snickered.

"Weather." Cory recovered.

"Wow, how weird. He was fine a few hours ago." The girl with the blonde hair said.

"So, I guess you want to take the girls and get out of here immediately, right?" Cory asked and Melanie nodded in agreement.

"Is anyone hungry? Shoppers, now's your chance to win a free lobster dinner from Larry's Lobster Locker!" A voice over the speaker announced.

"We were so close," Melanie pouted.

"Oh, oh, lobster." The girl with blonde hair squealed as the two of them got up and leaned on Jason.

"Win us a lobster." The brown haired girl batted her eyelashes.

"All you have to do to win a free meal is knock Larry the Lobster into the giant tub of butter." The announcer said and Melanie turned around to see a revealed Eric sitting on a plank above a tub of butter.

Melanie watched in amusement as Eric tried to get Jason to not throw the ball and laughed as he fell into the butter tank.

~8~

"Mom, dad, I'm home." Melanie called entered the house and closed the door.

"Oh, good. You're back. I need you to stay the night at Topanga's, okay?" Melanie's mom, Maria, said as she dropped Stephanie into Melanie's arms.

Melanie gave an 'oompf' but quickly cradled Stephanie to her chest.

"But, mom, you just got home." Melanie pointed out and her mom sighed,

"Yes, I know, but your father and I have to go to a dinner meeting tonight and then we have an early brunch with his boss in the morning." She pinched Melanie's cheeks, "Be a good girl and head over. I already packed your bag; it's buy the door."

Melanie sighed and shifted Stephanie in her arms before grabbing their bag and heading out the door.

"Well, Steph, are you excited to see Panga?" Melanie asked and Stephanie nodded.

Knocking on Topanga's door, she stepped back and waited for someone to open it.

"Melanie?" Topanga's mother asked as she opened the door, "You staying the night again?"

"Yeah," Melanie nodded, "Sorry."

"Melanie, I told you that it's fine for you to stay over, stop apologizing. You and Stephanie are like the daughters I've never had. Here." She gently grabbed the bag and let Melanie in, "Topanga's in her room. She'll be happy to see you."

Melanie smiled before racing up the stair—as fast as she could with Stephanie—and entered Topanga's room.

"Hey, Panga." She said and placed Stephanie down.

"Melanie, you're here!" Topanga looked up from the book she was reading.

"Yeah, and the funniest thing happened today with Eric."

* * *

 **Hi! So, today you found out more about Melanie's family life.**

 **Another Fun fact: Melanie was originally going to have a twin brother named Michael (sound familiar?) who was supposed to have a huge debut when Melanie and Shawn got together but I replaced him with Stephanie when I changed Melanie's personal life storyline**

 **Kittkatty: Thank you! I'm planning on getting Melanie and Shawn together in season four. I don't want to reveal the episode because I don't know how many people will want it to be a surprise. If a majority of you want to know the episode, I'm fine with revealing it. Just let me know.**

 **Thank you for all the reviews!**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	17. Risky Business

"Topanga and I invested our imaginary one thousand dollars in the stock market." Melanie said as Topanga finished drawing their graph on the white board.

"And how did you do?" Mr. Feeny asked from Topanga's seat.

"Amazing!" Melanie beamed, "Wall Street didn't have a chance."

"Yet, none of the companies we invested in discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or bad karma." Topanga added, drawing a smiley face on the white board.

"You got to love her," Minkus murmured from his seat as he looked at Topanga and Melanie in awe.

"You gotta lock her up." Cory countered.

"Well thought out, Miss. Strong." Mr. Feeny said as he got up, "Very politically correct, Mrs. Lawrence."

Melanie and Topanga smiled and gave each other a high-five before they went to their seats.

"Which company's next?" Mr. Feeny asked and Cory shifted uncomfortably in his seat,

"Mr. Feeny, this project wasn't due for another week."

"This is a progress report, Mr. Matthews. Those companies who've made progress should have no problem," Mr. Feeny stated.

Melanie watched as Shawn leaned down and whispered in Cory's ear,

"Ahem. We have a problem."

Calmly making his way to the front of the room, Cory stood facing the class while Shawn grabbed another marker and drew a line straight across the board.

"Our investment is proceeding. We are pleased to report we have absolutely no losses and we haven't fired anybody, and nobody's quit." Cory said as he and Shawn smiled.

"They haven't even started yet," Minkus snickered and Mr. Feeny gasped dramatically,

"No?"

Hearing the bell ring, Melanie quickly packed up her stuff and looked between the door and Shawn and Cory.

"You can go, Miss. Strong." Mr. Feeny announced, "I need to have a little chat with Mr. Hunter and Mr. Matthews."

Melanie nodded and gave Cory and Shawn a quick smile,

"Good luck."

~8~

Melanie stood next to Topanga as they talked about what they should do with their company,

"I'm glad your company is making money," Minkus said and Topanga and Melanie looked at him, "because, seeing that either of you may be the future mother of my children, you are going to live in the lap of luxury because I'm a provider, babe."

"Um, wow, Minkus," Melanie blinked, "I don't know what to say."

"That's fine, babe." Minkus smirked.

"No, I _really_ don't know what to say."

"Melanie," Cory said as he approached them and Minkus left, "anyone can draw lines on a chart and say they're making money."

"You worried that Topanga and I are gonna crush you and your business?" Melanie said as she and Topanga crossed their arms, "Has your confidence shrunk."

"No," Shawn said with a laugh, "We are more confidenter than you."

Melanie and Topanga gave Shawn a weird look as Cory flinched.

"Let me handle the negotiations, Mongo. What do you have in mind?" Cory asked and Melanie smirked,

"I say that instead of using Feeny's fake money, we use real money and see who comes out on top."

"I don't have one thousand dollars." Cory exclaimed.

"You get an allowance, right?"

"That five bucks is sacred. That's my snack money."

"Afraid?" Melanie teased.

"No."

"Yes." Shawn and Cory responded.

"Make it ten." Shawn said as he leaned forward.

"Are you nuts?" Cory exclaimed.

"Fifteen." Melanie dared as she leaned in.

"Apparently, I'm invisible." Cory sighed.

"Twenty." Shawn got closer.

"Twenty-five." Their noses were almost touching.

"Topanga, make them stop talking!" Cory panicked as he pushed the two apart.

"As an equal partner in our corporation, I'd like to have a voice in this." Topanga said and Melanie nodded,

"Okay, it's us against them in a battle of wits."

"Three hundred thousand dollars." Topanga stated and Cory grabbed Melanie's hand and rapidly shook it,

"Ten bucks it is."

"Yes! We got them!" Melanie cheered before walking off with Topanga.

~8~

"After careful market analysis product testing, and strategic planning, we bet on Tuna Melt to win." Cory announced to the class.

"You gambled your ten dollars?" Melanie gasped.

"It's one thousand." Mr. Feeny corrected and Melanie gave a tight smile,

"Oh, right, right."

"You invested your money in a racehorse?" Mr. Feeny double checked.

"And we won," Cory nodded.

"Call the police, Mr. Feeny." Melanie directed, "They're cheaters."

Only Topanga, Shawn, and Cory knew the double meaning of that phrase.

"Well, now, she has a point, Mr. Matthews. Although, it is also illegal for minors to bet." Mr. Feeny agreed but Cory waved him off.

"Yes, she does. Except in this assignment, we're supposed to be businessmen and businesswomen. And, as we all know, it's perfectly legal for men and women to play the ponies." Cory smiled sweetly and Melanie glared at him.

Mr. Feeny hummed,

"Although I don't condone gambling in any form, Mr. Matthews and Mr. Hunter have demonstrated the basic tenet of American free enterprise—the bigger the risk, the reward."

"Risk, risk, risk." Cory sang.

"Reward, reward, reward." Shawn ended before they high-fived.

Melanie pursed her lips and Topanga smiled,

"I think they were very bold."

"I just wish they'd lost." Melanie grumbled.

~8~

"How can you not be angry?" Melanie asked Topanga as they ate ice cream in her kitchen.

"I'm just expecting some karma to come around to them," Topanga admitted and Melanie nodded.

"Yeah, maybe they're paying for it right now." Melanie shuddered, "I never want to gamble."

"I agree."

~8~

"Well, based on performance figures, it seems as though the Matthews-Hunter Consortium is our most profitable corporation." Mr. Feeny said and Melanie slumped down in her seat with a pout, "So, gentlemen, do you have any business tips for our other young entrepreneurs?"

"Yeah. Some people bet on a jockey, I say, 'Give me a horse that can run in the mud'." Shawn gloated.

"Oh, bravo." Mr. Feeny said, "Anything to add, Mr. Matthews?"

"Yes." Cory straightened up, "The greater the risk, the greater the potential profit. Just like you taught us, Mr. Feeny. Yes, but sometimes the glitter makes one lose sight of the risk and you should never gamble anything that you can't afford to lose."

"I didn't teach you that." Mr. Feeny pointed out and Cory shrugged,

"No, you didn't. I kind of managed to trip over that one myself."

The class scattered as the bell rang and Melanie slowly stretched in her chair. She lazily sat there for a few minutes before getting up and reaching to grab her stuff when she felt a pair of lips pressed against her cheek,

"Happy Valentine's Day," She heard Shawn whispered before he rushed out of the room.

Melanie face glowed a bright red before she raced after him,

"HUNTER!"

* * *

 **Ha HA! Look at the growth of that romance!**

 **Thank you for the reviews.**

 **Kittkatty: I am trying to finish Season 1 by the end of this week and am hoping to start Season 2 sometime this weekend.** **Kittkatty: On revealing when Shawn and Melanie will get together, there will be a sneak peak of that episode on S2 Ep1, which I am so excited for!**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	18. The Fugitive

"Hi, dad."

"Hi, Mr. Matthews." Cory and Melanie said as Alan entered his house.

"Whoa, ho ho." He said as he caught sight of Melanie holding a glove and Cory holding a bat, "What, baseball? In this storm? I don't think so."

'Mr. Matthews, it's just a drizzle." Melanie said as she gave a shrug.

A loud boom echoed through the house before a bright flash followed.

"A thundery, stormy kind of drizzle." Cory cheerfully added.

"Mmmhmm. Forget it, guys. Fine something to do around here." Alan said as he hung up his coat.

"We've been sitting inside all day. What are we supposed to do for fun?" Cory asked.

"Have tea with your sister."

"I made red zinger." Morgan said as she held up her tea cup.

"Yeah, zing this." Cory said before running up the stairs.

Melanie went to follow when she felt someone hugging her legs.

"Please play with me, Melanie." Morgan pleaded and Melanie silently groaned,

"Morgan, I've already played with you today. Maybe next time."

Pouting, Morgan unwound her arms for Melanie's legs and Melanie quickly ran up the stairs.

"Cory, why are the lights out?" Melanie asked as she entered his room and closed the door.

As she reached for the light switch, she felt someone grab hold of her wrist,

"Don't turn on the lights."

"Shawn?"

~8~

"You guys can't tell anyone that I'm here." Shawn confided as he took his sopping wet coat off.

"Right, right." Cory sat on his bed and Melanie looked at Shawn in confusion.

"How'd you get up here, anyway?" She asked and he went over to the window and pulled the blinds shut.

"I climbed up the tree into Cory's window." He explained out of breath, "I didn't want anyone to see me. Cory, Mel, I'm a fugitive."

"Fugitive?" Cory exclaimed, "Cool! Give the details."

"You remember that cherry bomb?" Shawn asked and Melanie looked at him with wide eyes,

"Did Feeny find it? Did you get suspended? Did you light it at school?"

"Awe, no." Cory whined at the thought of one of his best friends being suspended, "Nothing good ever happens to me."

"No," Shawn rolled his eyes, "All day I kept it in my pocket, all round and waxy, just begging me to light it. I mean, I could actually hear it saying, 'Light me. Light me, Shawn. Blow something up'."

"Shawn," Melanie glowered, "What did you do?"

"Well, I was riding my bike down Kay Street-"

"You blew up Kay Street?" Cory exclaimed.

"I parked at the Market Giant-"

"You blew up the Market Giant?" Cory suddenly paused, "That's my dad's store… I have mixed feelings."

"There on the ground by the shopping carts—a matchbook." Shawn looked Melanie and Cory dead in the eye, "It was like a sign, you know, saying, 'Now, Shawn. Now. Let the sucker blow'."

"So you're holding the lit cherry bomb-"

"I don't remember lightening it." Shawn interrupted Cory, "But suddenly, there it was, in my hands. Sparks flying off the fuse and suddenly, I realized, this thing's going to go off. I mean, I could lose an eye, lose an arm, wind up looking like our shop teacher."

"So why didn't you just throw it?" Cory asked.

"There were people around." Shawn said as he took a seat on the bed, "I could've hurt somebody. I just knew I had to get it far, far away, so I mailed it."

"You blew up a United States mailbox?" Cory's jaw dropped.

"Well, it's still standing." Shawn tried to defend himself, "Although the sides did puff out like a fat guy burping. All the stuff inside got torched though. You should have seen the flames and the freaked out look on people's faces."

"Why am I never around when the great stuff happens?" Cory sulked.

"I think I shook the cops." Shawn admitted before jumping off the bed, "What do I do now? I can't go home."

"Why not?" Melanie asked with a raised eyebrow, "It wasn't like you did it on purpose."

"But I did it," Shawn pointed out as he slammed his fist into his hand, "That's the only part my old man's going to hear. I stepped over the line this time, guys. I'm going to get killed for this."

"What are you going to do?" Cory asked and Shawn shrugged,

"You think I could stay here for a couple days, just until I figure things out?"

"Fine with me." Cory smiled, "I'll go ask my Mom."

Shawn grabbed Cory's arm right before he could open the door and gave a nervous laugh,

"You're really new at this, aren't you?"

"What?" Cory asked, confused.

"No one can know I'm here, especially not your folks. They'll tell my mom and dad."

"Oh, right, right, right." Cory paused, "What about Eric? He's dumb, but I think he'll notice a third guy in the room."

"I'll hide in closet." Shawn shrugged.

Melanie looked at him, "Have you even seen his closet?"

Shawn watched in awe as Melanie pulled open the closet door and mountains of clothes fell out.

"Okay, under the bed."

"Okay," Cory said and they walked towards the bed, "but you may not be the only living thing under there."

Melanie and Shawn watched as Cory pulled up the comforter's sides to reveal a small family of mice.

"Hi. How you doing?" Shawn asked and Cory dropped the comforter back down, "Jeez, how do you live like this?"

"Cory. Dinner! Melanie, your mom's here to pick you up!" Amy yelled and Melanie gave Cory and Shawn a smile,

"Good luck, you guys. Don't get caught."

~8~

"I think Shawn was making a daring political statement." Topanga confessed to Minkus who crossed his arms,

"And what statement was that, build more prisons?"

"You guys don't know anything about it." Cory snapped as Mr. Feeny walked in.

"Sorry I'm late," He apologized as he made his way to his desk, "I see you've all heard about Mr. Hunter's little stunt yesterday. I just spoke with his parents. Evidently, Shawn didn't come home last night. I imagine no one here has heard from him."

"Why are you looking at me?"

"What makes you think I heard from Shawn?" Melanie and Cory exclaimed and Mr. Feeny sighed,

"I was addressing the entire class."

"Yeah, but you make it sound like I lit the cherry bomb and stuck it in the mailbox on Kay Street near the Market Giant," Cory spilled and Melanie took the pause to lightly kick the back of Cory's chair, "I'm just guessing."

"He claims he hasn't spoken with Shawn since the incident, yet he knows the precise location and that Hunter's plot involved a cherry bomb." Minkus pointed out as he pointed his finger at Cory, "I smell conspiracy. I smell cover up."

Cory grabbed Minkus's finger, "I smell a nerd with nine fingers."

"Mr. Matthews, unhand that Minkus. Mr. Minkus return to your seat." Mr. Feeny commanded before picking up a book, "Now, then, we shall continue reading aloud from page one hundred fifty-seven. Edgar Allan Poe's, _The Tell-tale Heart_."

Melanie shifted in her seat as Mr. Feeny began,

"They heard… They suspected… They knew…" Cory and Melanie shared a panicked look before looking back at Mr. Feeny, "I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer. I felt that I must scream or die, and now, hark again. Louder, louder, louder."

Melanie felt all the color drain from her face,

"Mr. Matthews, Miss. Strong, anything wrong?"

Melanie and Cory just sat there, plagued by the thoughts that someone had found out the truth, and that they were in trouble.

~8~

"We checked outside the store." Melanie said as she entered Cory's room.

"Yeah, we didn't see it anywhere." Cory added.

"See what?" Melanie and Cory spun around and let out a nervous breath as they saw it was Amy.

"Uh, it." Cory stammered.

"It?"

"It-it-it." Melanie lightly hit Cory's back in a way that prevented Amy from seeing it, "Italy. I didn't see Italy. I didn't see France. I didn't see anybody's underpants." Cory quickly kicked a pair of underwear under the desk they were leaning on.

"Well, consider yourself luck. I just did the laundry and while I was putting it away, I discovered a little something you've been hiding?" Melanie and Cory froze.

"What?" Cory asked, hesitantly.

"You organized your closet." Amy said as she pulled open Cory's now clean closet.

"Oh, yeah, yeah." Cory said as he made his way towards the door, "Practically clean itself. So why don't you just give me a hug and move along?"

"Okay," Amy agreed and she grabbed the vacuum, "I'll leave two alone. Bye."

As soon as the door closed, Shawn wiggled himself out from under the bed.

"In the past twenty-four hours, I almost blow off my hand and get sucked into a Hoover." Shawn said as he readjusted his shirt.

"Nice pants," Melanie snickered causing Shawn to lightly blush and glare at her,

"Thanks. They're Cory's."

"You organized my closet?" Cory asked and Shawn ran his hands through his hair,

"Yeah, well, I didn't mean to. Just what was I supposed to do in this room all day? Let me tell you, you have a very up-to-date collection of video games. I especially enjoyed _Pong_."

"Feeny said your parents came by the school." Cory said.

"You didn't say anything, did you?" Shawn asked as he looked between Cory and Melanie.

"Well, he was working us, all right, but I was a stone." Cory said confidently and Shawn looked at Melanie.

"He actually handled it quite well." She admitted and Shawn sighed in relief.

"Cory!' Alan called and Cory panicked,

"It's just me and Mel in here!"

"Oh, Melanie," Alan said as he opened Cory's bedroom door, "Do you mind playing with Morgan for a bit? I would like to talk to Cory."

"No problem," Melanie said and she quickly left the room.

"Morgan! Do you wanna have your tea party now?" She called as she ran down the stairs.

~8~

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Melanie called as she raced down the stairs to the front door.

She had left the Cory's about ten minutes after Mr. Matthews went to talk to Cory, much to Morgan's dismay. She had been playing with Stephanie in her room when rapid knocks on her front door caused her to place Stephanie in her crib and come downstairs to see who it was.

"Shawn?" Melanie asked as she opened the door to see a sopping wet Shawn, "What are you doing here?"

"Cory was going to rat me out." Shawn fumed as he walked inside.

"Oh." Melanie closed the door.

"Can you believe him? He was gonna tell his dad so that our parents could work it out."

"Well, maybe he's right, Shawn." Melanie said softly and Shawn whipped around,

" _What?_ "

"Look, you haven't been home in twenty-four hours. Your parents are bound to be worried, and they haven't even called the police. They're practically waiting for you make the right decision and come." Melanie pointed out and Shawn scoffed,

"They probably didn't call the police cause they're gonna kill me."

"Shawn, come on! Listen to me! We've been best friends since we were in Kindergarten. Don't you think that you can trust me on this?" Melanie said impatiently.

"I thought you could help, but I guess I was wrong." Shawn said before he raced out the front door.

"Shawn!" Melanie called, "Shawn!"

~8~

"Oh," Cory said as he and Melanie stopped in front of Mr. Feeny, "Today's not Monday?"

"All week long, you three ache to get out of this classroom, and here you are, in the middle of the night sneaking into it." Mr. Feeny exclaimed before leaving.

"Did you bring the stuff I asked for?" Shawn asked and Cory handed him the bag while Melanie jumped up and sat on a desk.

"It's empty. How about some money?" Shawn asked again and Cory and Melanie gave him a blank look, "Can I borrow either of your bikes?"

"Actually, we got a ride here." Melanie said.

"Who from?" Shawn cautiously asked.

"Your mom and dad," Cory voiced and Shawn drew back.

"They're here?"

"They're actually parked right outside." Melanie said before she bit her lip.

"Forget it. I'm not going home. You don't want to help me, that's fine. I'll sneak out the back." Shawn said and Cory quickly blocked him, "Get out of my way, Cory, or-"

"Or else what, you'll hit me? Fine. Go ahead. Wipe the floor with me." Cory challenged.

"Cory, just get out of my way." Shawn said as he tried to get around Cory.

"No," Cory protested and Melanie hopped down and stood next to Cory,

"You have to go home, Shawn." Melanie said softly, "You can't run away."

"Yes, I can!" Shawn yelled and he pushed forward, "Just get away from the door."

"Shawn!" Cory exclaimed as he grabbed Shawn by the collar, "We're not moving."

"Cor, Mel," Shawn whispered in a broken voice, "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to come back on our side of the line." Cory answered.

"How am I supposed to do that?" Shawn asked.

"Just go home," Melanie said with a small, soft smile.

"My parents are going to ground me for, like, a year." Shawn pointed out.

"Well, then, we'll see you in a year." Cory shrugged.

"Man, I am so going to get killed."

"Yeah, well, we're only twelve," Cory said, "We live again."

Shawn gave a small sigh before he grabbed his coat and walked out of the room as Melanie and Cory shared a quick smile before following him out.

~8~

"Would you like some tea, Lady Marmalade?" Morgan asked Melanie as she held out her teapot.

"Why of course! I've heard that you have the best tea in the whole world." Melanie nodded and held out her teacup.

Melanie patiently waited for Morgan to fill up her cup and when she was finished, she pretended to take a sip out of the small, pink cup.

"How magnificent!' Melanie complimented and Morgan smiled widely.

"Would you like some more?"

"Of course!"

As Morgan 'poured' Melanie her second cup of tea, Melanie heard the door slam and her eyes immediately lit up,

"Shawn!"

"Excuse me, My Lady, I must go, but I will return quickly." Melanie said before rushing down the stairs.

"Shawn!" She exclaimed and he turned to look at her, "You're free!"

Without hesitating, Melanie raced over to Shawn and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

"See," Melanie said as she pulled away and faced a blushing Shawn, "A month flew bye."

"Lady Marmalade! Your tea is getting cold!" Morgan called and Melanie shook her head,

"Right, I need to get back to our tea party. Coming, My Lady!"

Shawn's eyes trailed after Melanie as she raced back up the stairs,

"Does she seem different to you, or is that just me?" He asked.

"That's just you." Cory reassured.

* * *

 **I have started to write future episodes (including GMW episodes) and I was wondering if you would like me to randomly surprise you with little sneak peaks, or for me not to and just let it be a surprise.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews and for reading this story!**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	19. It's A Wonderful Night

"Tonight is going to be the best night of our lives," Shawn said as he slid next to Cory and Melanie.

"Mom and dad—gone." Cory sighed.

"Your brother—date." Melanie added, "And who's left in charge?"

"Judy—Queen of Zits." Shawn said and he high-fived Cory.

"We'll tell her she's looking especially broken out this evening." Shawn planned with a smirk.

"So she'll spend all night in the bathroom squeezing her face." Cory agreed as he rubbed his hands together.

"Leaving us to watch," Shawn pulled out a VCR tape.

"Barney Salutes the Alphabet?" Melanie asked, giving Shawn a confused look.

"That's just the box," Shawn explained, "It's parent camouflage. Outside, a happy purple sock. Inside, the guts are flying."

"Whoa!" Cory exclaimed as he looked at the actual tape, " _I'm Blowing Up Your Head Part Six_ — _Stumpy's Revenge._ " Cory looked at Shawn, "I thought Stumpy died in Part Five."

"Well, that's why he wants revenge." Shawn pointed out and Cory nodded,

"Cool!"

~8~

Melanie watched in amusement from her position on the couch as Mr. Feeny finally caved in and placed the flowery hat on his head. Seeing that he was getting up and coming their way, Melanie gently nudged Shawn with her elbow, warning him to alert Cory to change the channel.

"So, all previous theories of the migratory pattern of the arctic caribou are shattered by the startling discovery that not one, but two arctic caribous here, where there were previously not one, but none." The man's voice on the TV said as Melanie, Cory, and Shawn watched Mr. Feeny leave the room.

"Go, Cory." Melanie whispered and Cory quickly changed the channel back to the movie.

"All right, college girl in the shower, kiss you head goodbye." Stumpy said, eerily.

"No! Stumpy! No!" The college girl screamed before a large explosion sounded.

"Why did Stumpy blow up her head?" Cory asked.

"Well, that's a tough one, Cor." Shawn said as he ran his hand through his hair, "Stumpy's a pretty complex guy."

"Here we are." Mr. Feeny said as he reentered the room and Cory quickly switched the channel.

"After the infant caribou is delivered, the mother licks it free of birth fluids."

"Eww!" Melanie, Cory, and Shawn groaned as they shielded their eyes.

"Oh, buck up." Mr. Feeny said from behind them, "You're watching the glorious tapestry of nature."

Cory quickly made sure that Mr. Feeny had left before he switched the channels,

"All right, buxom night nurse. Say hasta la vista to your head." Stumpy laughed.

"No. Stumpy! Not the crossbow! No!" She screamed before she too, was blown up.

"Whoa! Ooh, she blowed up real good." Cory said and Melanie and Shawn nodded in agreement, "Bean dip?"

Melanie grabbed a chip and reached over Shawn so she could get some bean dip.

"I wonder if Eric's having as good a time as we are?" Melanie asked as she took a bit of her chip.

"Are you kidding?" Cory exclaimed, "Having fun is what he's best at."

~8~

"Why are we here?" Melanie asked as she held on to Morgan's hand.

Mr. Feeny had told them to get their coats on because Eric needed to someone to come and get him and Melanie thought that his car had broken down, but when they arrived at a car lot, Melanie didn't know what was going on. She didn't think that you had to go to a car lot when your car had broken down.

"Because Eric got in trouble." Morgan answered and Melanie sighed,

"Okay then."

"What seems to be the problem?" Mr. Feeny asked and the kids went to take a seat at the bench.

"Dad's car got towed." Eric explained.

"And we can't get it back from Sasquatch." Jason added.

"Oh," Mr. Fenny relaxed, "I'll clear this up in no time. Excuse me, young man."

"It's, uh, Tony with a 'Y'." Tony corrected and Mr. Feeny nodded,

"Fine, Tony. Might I inquire why you won't release the car?"

"It's like I told the kid—you ain't got a license, you ain't getting the car." Tony explained with a shrug.

"Aren't." Mr. Feeny corrected.

"What?" Tony asked, confused.

"You aren't getting the car."

"Wrong, pal. I already got the car." Tony smiled and Mr. Feeny shook his head,

"No, no. You misunderstand me. I was simply correcting your grammar."

"I don't need lessons from a guy who's wearing earrings." Tony sneered and Mr. Feeny grasped his ears.

"Can we get back to the car issue, please?" Eric pleaded and Tony shrugged,

"The issue is, no license, no car. Capeesh?"

"Eric, why don't you just give the man your license?" Mr. Feeny asked, confused.

"Because I, uh, I don't have it." Eric shakily responded.

"Well, tell me where you left it, and I'll go get it."

"Well, I don't, uh, technically like, at this actual point in time." Eric stammered and Shawn stood up with a smirk,

"He doesn't have his license."

"He's got to." Cory protested, "Not even my brother's that big of an idiot."

"I, uh, beg to differ." Jason said.

~8~

Melanie raced through the front door and jumped onto the couch, shifting when Shawn and Cory squished next to her. Cory immediately turned the TV back on and soon, she was enthralled in the movie.

"What are you watching?" Mr. Feeny asked and Melanie's attention snapped to him.

"Um, uh." Cory stuttered, "It's caribou migrating and licking their babies."

"Where's the remote? Where's the remote?" Cory murmured as he, Melanie, and Shawn rapidly looked around, not noticing that Mr. Feeny grabbed the remote.

"All right," Stumpy's voice sounded and Melanie's attention turned back to the TV, "Fun-loving stewardess. Coffee, team, or bazooka shell?"

"Uh, coffee?" The stewardess asked before screaming, "No!"

"Why did that man just blow up her head?" Mr. Feeny asked as he pointed at the TV.

"Uh, it's nature." Melanie improvised.

"It's human nature." Shawn agreed and Cory nodded rapidly,

"A rich tapestry of exploding head."

They attention switched back to the TV as more screams and explosions sounded.

"That is cheap garbage," Mr. Feeny stated before reaching for the VCR.

"Wait. What are you doing?" Shawn questioned and they jumped to their feet.

"Mr. Feeny, our machine's kind of tricky. No!" Cory exclaimed as Mr. Feeny yanked the tape out, ruining the disk.

"This is rated R." Mr. Feeny noted.

"Yeah, R for wrecked." Shawn groaned.

"Now Shawn's gonna have to pay for it." Cory said as he took the ruined tape from Mr. Feeny.

"Shawn?" Shawn raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"Hey, you rented it," Cory pointed out.

~8~

"George, what are you doing here?" Amy asked once she entered the house.

"The babysitter canceled. I'm doing the best I can." Mr. Feeny replied.

"He killed out tape," Cory said from the couch where he, Shawn, and Melanie sat.

"What tape?" Alan asked and Shawn and Melanie glared at Cory,

"Good move."

"Nice going."

"Uh, tape?" Cory nervously laughed, "There is no tape. Did I say tape? What was I thinking?"

"You were thinking, 'Goodnight, Shawn, Mel." Melanie said as she got up and raced to the door and Shawn followed her.

"Shawn, Mel, you cannot leave me here with this tape." Cory stated and Melanie laughed.

"See how little you know me." She said before running off.

Cory gave Shawn a pleading look.

"Hey, I'm with her." Shawn said before turning and running off.

Cory turned and nervously smiled at his parents.


	20. Kid Gloves

"The following is a list 'of exciting extracurricular activities' offered to you, the student, by your Philadelphia Board of Education," Mr. Feeny informed as he read off a sheet of paper, "Each student shall select one exciting activity: vocabulary club-"

"Too exciting." Shawn said and Melanie snickered.

"Mr. Matthews, please." Mr. Feeny said and Cory frowned,

"It wasn't me, it was Shawn."

"Same thing." Mr. Feeny brushed off, "All right: debate team, scuba club, upholstery squad."

"Scuba Club?" Cory's eyes lit up, "Underwater adventure. I'm in."

"Me too." Shawn agreed.

"I really do like the ocean." Melanie hummed, "I'll do it."

"Well, I, for one, plan to stimulate my intellect and will therefore choose between the Vocabulary club and the Debate Team." Minkus said as he straightened up in his seat.

"I would enjoy communing with the creatures of the sea." Topanga nodded, "I choose Scuba."

"Slap me in a wet suit and throw me overboard," Minkus sighed, dreamily.

Mr. Feeny paused and quietly paced the rows, "Can anyone tell me what the acronym SCUBA is? Mr. Matthews?"

"Duba?" Cory guessed, "Sucba duba."

"Mr. Matthews, I have obviously failed you on so many levels," Mr. Feeny grieved, "An acronym is a pronounceable formation made by a combination of letter."

"I told you." Cory said as he turned and faced Shawn.

"So, now, can anyone tell me what SCUBA stands for? Come on." Mr. Feeny clapped, "Someone take a stab at it. Mr. Hunter, you haven't spoken since fourth grade." He leaned down to Shawn's level, "S-C-U-B-A. What does it stand for?"

"Something's creepy under boat…Andy." Shawn smiled.

"Mr. Matthews was closer with duba." Mr. Feeny sighed and stood up, "Very well. Take it away, Mr. Minkus."

"No," Minkus said softly and Mr. Feeny looked at him,

"I beg your pardon?"

"I don't want to know everything. I want to fit in. I want to be one of the normal, stupid guys. I'm going with duba." Minkus declared and smiled.

"All right." Mr. Feeny stroked his mustache, "Mr. Minkus obviously does not know."

"Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus." Melanie finally voiced and Mr. Feeny looked at her surprised, "I read it in a book."

~8~

"Mrs. Lawrence, did you sign my paper?" Melanie asked as she raced down the stairs with Topanga.

"Yes, it's on the kitchen table next to Topanga's." Mrs. Lawrence directed as she held Stephanie.

"Thank you! Come on, Topanga! We can't be late!" Melanie exclaimed as she stood by the door.

"I'm coming!" Topanga exclaimed and the two raced out the door.

~8~

Melanie stood next to Topanga in her bathrobe as they spoke with a woman about the different flipper sizes.

"Oooo" Melanie teased, "Is someone's crush shirtless?"

Topanga blushed before tightening her bathrobe,

"No. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Denial," Melanie whispered as she made her way towards Shawn and Cory with Topanga.

"It's not very evolved to ridicule the human form," Topanga lectured, "Each of our bodies is the master creation of Mother Nature."

"Well, except for Minkus," Shawn said as Minkus took off his bathrobe to reveal a wet suit, "He was created by Mother Goose."

"Anybody ready for a dip?" Minkus asked as he walked towards them.

"Yep, and here he comes." Shawn said.

"Minkus, you look like a stick of Juicy Fruit." Cory said before turning to Melanie and Topanga, "Are you guys wearing a wet suit too?"

"Nope." Topanga said as she confidently took her robe off to reveal a black, flower patterned one-piece.

"Why would I wear a wet suit?" Melanie asked as she, too, shed off her bathroom to reveal a dark purple one-piece.

"What's the matter?" Topanga asked, "No funny remarks?"

"Uh, you got anything?" Cory asked as he stared at Topanga.

"I got nothing." Shawn replied as he stared at Melanie.

"Uh, you got anything?" Cory asked again.

"Snap out of it." Shawn said, pulling his eyes away from Melanie, "She's just a girl in a bathing suit. Insult her."

"No," Cory suddenly said, "From now on, I'm gonna be insulting you."

"Whoa." Melanie raised her eyebrows, "What just happened."

"Topanga, Melanie." Minkus said as he made his way back over to them, "You look very beautiful."

"Minkus," Melanie blushed, "Um, thank you."

"That's very sweet, Stuart." Topanga agreed, "My superficial side thanks you."

Melanie and Topanga walked over to the table to find a mask.

"What is Minkus doing?" She heard Cory say and she gave Topanga a smirk.

"I don't know, but he's doing it better than us." Shawn pointed out.

~8~

"I wonder who the instructor is going to be." Melanie said as she picked up a green mask.

"I'm not sure either." Topanga agreed.

"Good afternoon, fellow divers." Mr. Feeny said as he walked into the room and Cory and Shawn screamed, "Yes, Mr. Matthews, Mr. Hunter, I am a certified dive master and have been for years. Now, the first rule of diving is to never dive alone. Therefore, I would like each of you to select a partner to be your diving buddy."

"Buddy?" Melanie asked Topanga and she nodded,

"Buddy."

"Now, one of our first drills will be buddy breathing where you share your regulator and breathe through the same mouth piece." Mr. Feeny explained before showing them an example.

"Did you brush your teeth this morning?" Melanie heard Cory ask Shawn.

"I'm not sure. What day is it?"

~8~

"Today was so much fun!" Melanie laughed as she entered Topanga's house.

"Yes," Topanga agreed, closing the door, "Especially when it turned out that Shawn didn't brush his teeth. Speaking of Shawn," Topanga looked at Melanie with a dangerous glint in her eyes, "I couldn't help but notice that he couldn't take his eye off you."

"Don't be silly, Panga." Melanie said as they made their way to her room, "He doesn't think of me in that way. We're just friends."

"Mmmhmm," Topanga hummed, "While I see something more than 'just friends' in the future."

Melanie blushed a bright red and Topanga laughed.

* * *

 **Foreshadowing is strong in this story. I like to put little hints and clues of what might happen in the future.**

 **Thank you for reading and reviewing.**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	21. The Play's the Thing

"Good morning, class." Feeny announced as he walked into the classroom, "I would like you all to let our your most agonized groan."

Melanie let out a low, pathetic groan with the rest of the class.

"Good. Now, let's start planning our springtime class play." Mr. Feeny rolled his eyes as the class let out a real groan, "Been there, heard that. Now, before you give up in despair, you may want to hear my play selection. It has sword fights, murder, skulls, even ghosts. How does it sound?"

"Sounds like Spielberg." Cory cheered.

"Sounds like Shakespeare," Mr. Feeny corrected and Cory's smile dropped.

"Sounds like a loser." Shawn fixed.

"We will be doing select scenes from the play _Hamlet_. Mr. Hunter, in the parlance of the theater, you will be a spear carrier." Mr. Feeny dropped a book on Shawn's desk.

"Excellent." Shawn smiled, "So this guy I play is like, what, a warrior and a hero?"

"No. This guy you play has the fewest lines to memorize." Mr. Feeny moved on to Topanga, "Miss. Lawrence, you will be playing the tragic heroine, Ophelia. Now, this is a challenging role. She goes quite insane."

"Topanga insane? What a stretch." Cory said sarcastically.

"If I were a less-evolved person, I'd say, 'Cram it, brillo-head." Topanga snapped and Melanie oohed.

"She got you good, Cor." Melanie laughed.

"Mr. Minkus," Mr. Feeny carried on, "You will be playing the role of the wise old Polonius."

"Polonius?" Minkus asked, "He only has forty-eight lines. I sort of pictured myself as the melancholy Dane."

"For those of you unfamiliar with the reference, Mr, Minkus means the lead role, Prince Hamlet. Now, this is a tricky part to cast because Hamlet gets on a lot of people's nerves. He makes one stupid mistake after another, and for five acts, he never shuts up." Mr. Feeny finished and everybody looked at Cory.

"What? Do I have a booger?" Cory asked as he turned to Shawn.

~8~

"To be or to not to be, that is the question." Cory read as he stood in the middle of the circle that the class had made with their desks, "Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of blah, blah, blah." Cory closed his book, "Mr. Feeny, who wrote this garbage?"

"Some say Shakespeare's plays were written by a group of individuals but I don't necessarily believe that." Mr. Feeny said with a sigh.

"I personally subscribe to the Francis Bacon Theory." Minkus stated with a shrug,

"I go with the Jimmy Dean sausage theory." Shawn nodded and Melanie rolled her eyes.

"Please continue, Mr. Matthews." Mr. Feeny waved him and Cory nodded,

"Okay," Cory took a deep breath, "To die, to sleep—no more. And by a sleep, to say we end the heartache. Can I please stop whining and shove a sword through somebody's gut?"

"Yes," Mr. Feeny exclaimed, impatiently, "As soon as you get to the queen's chamber."

"See, there's the problem right there." Cory placed his book down on Mr. Feeny's desk, "You want murder, you want suspense, you don't go to your mother's bedroom."

"And how are you going to improve the greatest play in English literature?" Mr. Feeny asked as he raised his eyebrows

"Well, for starters, let's set this thing in a burning skyscraper. Then I could do of a Bruce Willis thing, you know? Shooting Uzis, blowing away terrorists, jumping out windows." Cory acted out, "All this guy, Hamlet, does is talk. He even talks when nobody's there."

"Prince Hamlet finds himself in the middle of a terrible dilemma," Mr. Feeny explained as he got up, "Whatever course of action he chooses could have dire consequences. He is racked with indecision. He is one of literature's most _human_ characters."

"You mean most wimpy characters." Cory corrected, "Wimps talk, heroes do stuff."

"The gospel according to Jean-Clause Van Damme." Mr. Feeny turned around, "Ah, Ophelia, don't you look authentic."

"Thank you, Mr. Feeny. Here's your costume," Topanga told Cory as she handed Mr. Feeny the costume, "Jedidiah sewed it last night."

"Wait a minute," Cory said as he looked at the costume, "What was your dad thinking? This is a minidress and pantyhose."

"No, no. Actually, this is a doublet and tights," Mr. Feeny corrected, "Which is how male actors dressed back in the 1600s."

"You know, maybe if Hamlet had worn pants, he could have made a decision or two." Cory remarked and Melanie's jaw dropped.

"Is that a sexist comment?" Topanga tested and Cory smiled,

"That's what I was shooting for."

"Don't listen to her, Cory." Shawn said, "Her dad sews."

Melanie reached over and smacked the back of his head,

"Ow!"

"Be nice," Melanie warned.

"Now, listen." Mr. Feeny continued, "Part of this assignment is to learn the classical style. So doing the play in its original form will help with the lesson. Here." He tried to hand Cory his costume.

"Okay, Mr. Feeny. You don't want to listen to my ideas, the kind of ideas that could make this play famous, fine. But don't expect me to sit around like Hamlet and take it."

"Oh, and what do you propose to do?" Mr. Feeny asked.

"I quitteth." Cory said and placed his hand over his heart before walking out of the room.

~8~

"Cory, what were you thinking?" Melanie asked as she found him and Shawn standing in the middle of the hallway, talking.

"I was thinking how great I can make this play. Like I said to Shawn, who else can he give the part to?" Cory replied nonchalantly.

"Minkus, Cory. He can give the roll to Minkus." Melanie pointed out as she rolled her eyes.

Cory and Shawn looked at each other before laughing.

"Yeah, right."

~8~

"Oh, good, Shawn, you here." Melanie panted as she rested her hands on her knees.

She had basically run around the whole school looking for him. What they say about stage-crew manager being easy, is a lie. She had never felt more stressed in her life. _What if high school's like this,_ Melanie suddenly paled at her thought.

"What's up, Mel?" Shawn asked and placed his hands on his air-filled stomach.

"We're starting rehearsal. What are doing here, Cory?" Melanie asked.

"Is Minkus really stinking up the play that badly?" Cory frowned and Melanie rapidly nodded,

"Cory, I have seen some strange stuff in my life, but nothing compares to this."

"What could be strange than this?" Shawn questioned.

"Have you forgotten that I'm friends with Topanga." Melanie raised her eyebrow, "Anyway, your parts coming up."

"Is this really such a big thing?" Cory asked as he watched Melanie and Shawn turn to leave.

"Yeah. People are depending on me." Shawn said.

"Who's depending on you?"

"My dad." Shawn stated, "He's coming to see the play."

"Your dad's taking time off work to watch you die?" Cory asked, shocked.

"Apparently this is something everybody wants to see." Shawn shrugged and Melanie smiled.

"I got Topanga's parents to record it for me." Melanie exclaimed happily, "I feel like it's something important to have recorded."

"Well, you know what I want to see? You, me, and Mel shooting hoops in the gym right now." Cory said.

"Cory, we really can't." Melanie pointed out with a shrug, "Shawn and I need to get going. I'm already late for Act I Scene I."

"Yeah, we gotta go. Hey guys, wait up." Shawn called as he saw two fellow classmates, but they ignored him and continued to walk away, "They disobey me like that again, I'm going to sit on them."

"Come on, Shawn." Melanie groaned and grabbed his hand, pulling him back towards the auditorium.

~8~

"What is he whose grief bears such an emphasis?" Minkus acted as his back faced the audience.

"Stop, Mr. Minkus." Mr. Feeny said.

"I only answer to Hamlet." Minkus replied.

"Stop, Mr. Hamlet," Mr. Feeny said and walked up onto the stage, "You're supposed to be facing the audience."

"Aren't I?" Minkus asked before spinning around and taking a step forward, only for Mr. Feeny to catch him before he fell.

"Hamlet, where are your glasses?" Mr. Feeny exclaimed and Minkus shrugged,

"Mr. Feeny, they didn't have eyeglasses in the Middle Ages."

"Put on your glasses and climb into Ophelia's grave," Mr. Feeny command.

"You know," Minkus started as he put his glasses on, "I read an article that said Elizabethan English is a lot like American Southern, so let me show you a little something I've been playing around with."

Minkus cleared his throat and placed his foot on Topanga's stomach.

"Shazam!" Minkus said in a horrible western accent, "Show me what thou't do. Woo't weep? Woo't fight? Woo't tear thyself?"

Melanie and Shawn shared a look while Cory groaned,

"Oh, great. Ernest goes to Denmark."

"Stuart, I can't breathe." Topanga gasped.

"Stick to the script."

"Your foot is on my liver." Topanga grunted before she pushed Stuart's leg off her and he fell to the floor.

"I can't work like this!" Minkus exclaimed as he clutched his head.

"All right! All right!" Mr. Feeny cried, "I've had enough of rehearsal. I want you all to go home."

"Hey, looks like we can shoot hoops after all." Cory cheered and Shawn sighed.

"Yeah, let me go park my gut in the wardrobe."

"I should probably help him. I can't afford him braking anything." Melanie panicked before rushing after him.

~8~

Melanie stood backstage and peeked out the side to make sure that everything was going as planned.

"Okay," She murmured to herself, "Five more lines to go and then you're home free."

A loud pop caught her attention and she turned her head to see that the cast had started fighting with one another. One by one, she watched as Cory pushed each cast member off the stage before he was the only one standing there and, to her horror, started to pose. Melanie sighed and raced on stage, quickly pushing Cory off.

"Thank you all and have a good night." She bowed before she motioned for the stage hands to close the curtains.


	22. Boy Meets Girl

Melanie sat relaxed in her chair as they watched a video on puberty. She didn't understand why it bothered people so much to learn about it; everybody had to go through it,

"Hormones—the telegraph system of the body. Sometime between the ages of none and sixteen they will start to tell your body to change—very fast."

"This movie's rated 'H' for hurl." Cory said and Shawn snickered.

"Mr. Matthews, calm down and watch the film." Mr. Feeny whispered.

"The changes won't all be physical. Sometimes you'll feel like you're on an emotional rollercoaster. For instance, you may occasionally feel aggressive or weepy."

"Shawn," Cory sniffed, "I'm feeling so vulnerable. Do you have a tissue?"

"Shh!" Mr. Feeny hushed.

"Girls, you'll get your hormonal telegram well ahead of your boy classmates. Be patient while they catch up to you. Eventually everyone hears the Morse code of puberty."

"I got your telegram right here," Shawn said and gave an armpit fart.

"This film is meant to help you understand the metamorphosis your bodies will soon be going through." Mr. Feeny explained as he turned the TV off.

"How?" Cory asked, "That movie's a hundred years old. The telegram boy was played by George Burns."

"I welcome the changes that will transform me from a caterpillar into a butterfly." Topanga said with a soft smile.

"You say butterfly; I say a hairball with wings." Shawn stated and Melanie frowned.

"That's a beautiful outlook, Miss. Lawrence." Mr. Feeny praised as he walked back to the front of the class.

"Beautiful?" Cory scoffed, "I've seen hormones turn a normal guy's face into Craters 'R' Us."

"Yes," Mr. Feeny agreed. "There will be side effects, but those, thank goodness, will be the province of your seventh-grade teacher."

"If it happens." Cory corrected.

"Oh, it will happen." Mr. Feeny nodded and Shawn dropped his pencil.

Melanie watched as Shawn bent down to pick up his pencil the same time the girl who sat next to him did. She frowned when she noticed that he pulled back as though he had been electrocuted as soon as she got close to him and stayed frozen in that position. The girl handed Shawn the pencil and he quickly grabbed it.

Melanie ran a hand through her bangs as she looked at Shawn, who was still staring at the girl.

"Shawn? Shawn?" Cory started to snap his fingers, "Shawn?"

~8~

"Hey, Shawn." Melanie said as she walked over to him and Cory and she paused when he noticed that he was laughing uncontrollably, "Woah… you okay?"

"Some girl just asked him if he wanted to go and see a movie with him." Cory explained before turning back to Shawn, "Did she just tell a joke I didn't get?"

"Shawn, stop laughing." Melanie commanded.

"I can't." Shawn gasped, "Whoa, I don't know what just happened. I'm feeling really weird, guys."

"You look really weird." Cory stated, "Shawn, what's happening?"

"I don't know." Shawn laughed and Cory and Melanie gave him a concerned look,

"You're scaring me. Shawn, talk to me."

"I can't talk about it." Shawn calmed down, "I can laugh about it, but I cannot talk about it."

~8~

"Ok, we're in front of the movie theater." Shawn started.

"First hurdle—did she pay, or did you pay?" Eric asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"Eric, we snuck in."

"She agreed on a criminal act. I like this girl." Eric nodded.

"Then I go get the popcorn, right?"

"All right. Very important—did she offer to pay?"

"We split it right down the middle."

"She's a keeper." Eric chimed and Shawn smiled.

"Of course, I sprung for the artificial buttery-flavored topping."

"Nice touch. You know; I could really make you something." Eric pondered.

"What are you guys doing?" Cory asked as he and Melanie entered the bedroom.

"Uh, do you mind?" Eric asked tensely, "We're talking here."

"Well, you can't be talking to Shawn because Shawn told us he can't talk to anybody." Cory pointed out before he turned to Shawn, "Did you forget our basketball game?"

"Sorry, Cory, I guess I lost track of time." Shawn apologized.

"Hang on a minute, Cory. This is guy stuff." Eric said and Cory frowned,

"Basketball is guy stuff."

"Do you want me to go?" Melanie offered and Shawn shook his head.

Eric laughed, "They're so cute at this age. All right, so you and Hillary are sitting in the movie theater. Don't tell me you—"

"Yes." Shawn interrupted and Cory, Eric, and Melanie gaped, "We threw malt balls at people's heads for two hours."

Melanie didn't understand why kids were dating at such a young age; she was quite happy being single.

"It's been you, me, and Mel." She heard Shawn say as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "It's you, me, and Mel now and it's going to be you, me, and Mel forever.

~8~

Melanie smiled at Shawn as he made his way over to them at the cafeteria when he suddenly stopped,

"I'm going to go sit with Hillary."

"Oh, yeah." Cory sneered, "Nothing's changed. All right, Shawn wants to be with girls? Two can play at that game."

Melanie sighed as Cory got up and headed over to Minkus, leaving her alone at the table.

 _Is this what high school is going to be like_ ¸ she thought as she played with her food, _Cause if it is, it's gonna suck._

~8~

"So, Cory invited you on a date?" Melanie questioned laid on top of Topanga's bed and ate a twizzler.

"Yes. We are going to IHOS." Topanga informed.

Hearing the phone ring, Melanie groaned and got up,

"Hi. Is Topanga there?" She heard Cory say.

"Oh, hey, Cory!" Melanie exclaimed, "Yeah, Topanga's here. Yes, she's here physically."

Topanga got up and walked over to Melanie.

"It's for you." Melanie whirled around and held out the phone.

Melanie hopped back on the bed and waited for Topanga to finished her conversation,

"So, what's the verdict?" Melanie asked and Topanga slowly sat on the bed.

"He canceled our date." Topanga frowned.

"What? Why?" Melanie sat up.

"He said he has the flu."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Panga." Melanie said before she smirked, "Maybe you should go check up on him."

~8~

"So, how'd it go?" Melanie asked, bouncing with excitement.

"He taught me how to make a basket." Topanga smiled and Melanie squealed,

"I can see it now," She paused dramatically, "Topanga Matthews."

"No," Topanga disagreed, "We only played basketball."

"So, are you two dating?" Melanie asked with a smile.

"No, we both decided that we are not ready to start dating."

Melanie nodded, "So you're not denying that you will be going on more dates in the future."

"Melanie!"

~8~

"Hey, Shawn. How was your second date with Hillary?" Melanie asked as she spotted him on the way home from school.

"Oh, it was fine. Just my last one." Shawn responded once Melanie caught up,

"Ooh. I think Eric calls that the second date slump, right?" Melanie frowned.

"Yeah." Shawn nodded.

The two walked home in a comfortable silence when Melanie suddenly tripped over a divot in the sidewalk.

"Ow," Melanie whined from the ground and she slowly got up and started to collect the books that had fallen out of her hands.

"Here." Shawn handed her one of her books and she grabbed it.

"Thanks, Shawn." She beamed and their hands brushed.

Melanie watched as Shawn started to do that weird laugh that he did when Hillary invited him on a date.

"You okay there?" Melanie asked and Shawn nodded, still laughing.

"Shawn, you can seriously stop laughing now. It's creepy."

~8~

"Face it," Shawn sighed as he sat on the floor next to Cory, "Minkus was right."

"Don't you hate it when that happens?" Cory asked.

"No matter how you look at it there's going to be hormones, and there's going to be girls." Shawn pointed out.

"Important girls are going to come into our lives and stay for days at a time." Cory nodded and Shawn turned to him,

"You know what's cool? We made it through our first dates and we're still best friends."

"And we're going to stay best friends through second dates, proms, engagements, marriages." Cory listed.

"Second marriages," Shawn added.

"Whatever comes along we're going to stand here and face it together. Shoulder to shoulder." Cory said and the two boys nodded.

"Hi, Shawn." Melanie said as she exited Mr. Feeny's room.

"Hi, Cory." Topanga said as she entered Mr. Feeny's room.

Shawn and Cory looked at each other before looking back in the direction that their girl went,

"Later."

"Later."


	23. I Dream of Feeny

"You got your milk," Cory poured some milk into the blender.

"You got your peanut butter," Shawn added some peanut butter.

"Do you guys like bananas?" Melanie asked as she shoved a banana in.

"What about a raw egg?" Shawn asked and Cory frowned,

"Eww. Why does it have to be raw? Why can't we scramble it and put it in?"

"Stallone drinks raw eggs." Shawn pointed out.

"Stallone is like 5'2." Cory exclaimed.

"And you're like 2'5." Shawn retaliated.

"Go with the egg, baby." Cory cheered and Shawn cracked the egg into the blender.

"You guys, this is disgusting." Melanie stated and Shawn shrugged,

"You'll be thanking us when you grow ten inches."

"Who said I was going to drink this?" Melanie exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Okay, we're not going to make a mess." Cory clarified as he put the cap on the blender, "Just because we're kids with a blender doesn't mean we have to make a mess."

"Boy, you are mommy whipped." Shawn said as he took the lid off and hit the button.

"Aah!" Cory exclaimed as he, Shawn, and Melanie shot back.

"Are you serious." Melanie pouted as she looked down and noticed that they were all covered in the 'smoothie' and she turned the blender off.

"Now, that, I could never do at my house." Shawn laughed and Cory frowned.

"Oh, my mom!' Cory panicked and rapidly wiped his shirt, "Mel, back me up. I wanted to use the lid. I was Lid Boy."

Melanie watched as Amy opened the door, looked at them, and then closed it and walked away.

"Okay, fine. I'll clean it up," Cory exclaimed, "You don't have to scream."

"Hey, watch it. You're getting it all over my geography book," Shawn said as he grabbed his book and shook it off.

"It's not like you're ever going to open that book," Melanie pointed out as they made their way over to Cory's kitchen table.

"Feeny's test tomorrow is going to be such a killer." Shawn pouted.

"Yeah, I don't understand why we have to learn anything about geography. Why do we have to learn where everything is?" Cory questioned, "I'll just be like my dad and drive around till I found it."

Shawn crossed his arms, "Look at Feeny. He's out there hanging up some geeky duck. Not a care in the world while we're stuck in here studying for his lame test. Yeah," Shawn frowned, "Life's fair."

"Well, have you guys even attempted to study for the test?" Melanie asked and the guys shook their head, "Maybe we should get started."

"Okay," Cory straightened up in his chair and Melanie pulled out her flash cards.

"What is the capital of North Dakota?"

"Banff."

"Trenton."

Melanie looked at the two with wide eyes, "You're toast."

"Let's just say we're sick and stay home tomorrow." Cory declared and Shawn sighed,

"I can't, Cor. I've already used all my bogus medical excuses. Feeny says if my grandma dies one more time he wants to see the body."

"How come is has to be us? Why should we always be the ones faking a disease to get out of school? How come Feeny can't shoulder a little more responsibility?" Cory asked as watched Mr. Feeny work in his garden.

"Ah, dream on." Shawn said as he flipped through his geography book and Cory turned to face him, "I hear he hasn't missed a day of school since World War I."

"That's just stupid on his part," Cory remarked, "Cause teachers still get paid when they're sick."

"You lie," Shawn said and Cory shook his head.

"I swear!" He promised, "Minkus said the school board pays them to be sick for a whole week every year."

"Well, maybe Feeny doesn't know that." Shawn jumped, "Maybe we should leave him, like, a unanimous note on his desk tomorrow."

"That won't help you dodge the geography test tomorrow." Melanie paused, "Why don't you guys just study?"

Shawn gave her a 'really' look as Cory turned back to the window,

"Come on, cough!"

They all watched as Mr. Feeny took a deep breath and easily let it out.

~8~

"There's a look," Shawn stated as he looked at Topanga who was doing a handstand by the door.

"Don't tell me. You've died and come back as a bat with a perm." Cory guessed, sarcastically.

"This Hindu yoga position increases blood flow to the brain, thus maximizing concentration and cognitive performance." Topanga informed.

"It's actually quite a rush," Melanie said and Cory and Shawn turned to see her doing a handstand on the other side of the door.

"Mel, you too?" Cory asked and Melanie fell out of her handstand.

"I want to do the best I can on this exam." Melanie exclaimed as she got up.

"I'm so nervous," Cory said as he sat down in his seat.

"You? My palms are sweating so much I can't read the answers I wrote on them." Shawn ran his hand through his hair and bounced his leg nervously.

"I'm sensing an acute case of performance anxiety." Minkus stated. "No doubt brought on by a complete lack of preparation."

"Hey, Mel made us study till I couldn't think anymore." Shawn grimaced and Melanie smiled.

"Minkus," Cory sighed, "You can get all the A's you want, it's still not gonna make you popular."

"That's right. I can hear you ten years from now, 'People, people." Shawn began in a high pitched voice, "How many times do I have to tell you? If you save your receipts, you won't have to worry about an audit."

"And I can hear you ten years from now, 'Your Honor, dude," Minkus ran his hands through his hair, "I'd like to plea bargain."

"Geek master."

"Recidivist."

"Good morning, class." A woman said as she walked into the room, "I'm Miss. Chase, your substitute teacher. Mr. Feeny will not be in today. He has taken ill."

"Taken ill or fakin ill?" Shawn whispered, "I mean, the guy's never missed a day."

"Maybe he heard about the school board's great deal on sick leave." Cory guessed.

"I'm afraid I don't have access to Mr. Feeny's lesson plan." Miss. Chance said, "Can somebody please fill me in on what you were going to do today?"

"Miss. Chase, today we were supposed to take a geography-"

"Break." Shawn cut Minkus off as he rushed out of his seat and placed a hand over Minkus's mouth, "A break from geography."

"And do nothing but think about are lives and write a poem." Cory added.

"A short poem." Shawn clarified.

"Two, maybe three, lines. Tops." Cory nodded.

"Is that true?" Miss. Chase asked Minkus and he looked at Shawn before looking back at her,

"Yep."

"Great," Miss. Chance said as she walked up to Cory's desk, "My major at the University of Pennsylvania was poetry. Epic poetry. In fact, my dissertation was on 'Beowulf' an eighth century poem written in three thousand two hundred lines of old English. Let's see if we can knock out the first one thousand six hundred."

Melanie rolled her eyes as Cory and Shawn screamed.

~8~

"I can't believe that Mr. Feeny actually missed a day of school." Topanga said as she stood at Cory's lunch table.

"Well, you know who you can thank for that, don't you?" Cory asked.

"Zeus?" Topanga guessed and Cory shook his head.

"Me!" Cory exclaimed, "I wished for him to get sick and he did."

"You didn't wish for him to get sick." Shawn denied.

"Sure, I did. Yesterday, when Melanie forced us to study." Cory said and Melanie rolled her eyes.

"Even if you did, Cory," Melanie began, "You can't make something happen just because you say it."

"The power of the mind is not to be taken lightly, Melanie." Topanga lightly scolded, "Force of will is the most powerful weapon on earth."

Melanie watched as Shawn raised his eyebrows before staring at Topanga.

"Eh," He said, "No, it's not. Mel's right."

"Maybe I do have some kind of strange power like the X-men. Only, I have the power to make people sick." Cory nodded.

"Yeah," Shawn murmured, "It's working right now."

"Maybe I'll call myself Sick Boy! Sick Boy, possessor of a strange mutant power. With a glance of his sickening eye, he can make otherwise men bend over the toilet and go, 'Huahh!'" Cory exclaimed.

"All right, Sick Boy," Melanie smirked, "Make someone sick."

"All right. Who?"

Shawn nodded his head, "Minkus."

"Piece of cake." Cory said.

"Hey, Minkus." Shawn called, "Minkus, come here."

Melanie watched as Cory squinted his eyes at Minkus as Shawn talked to him.

"When your mother cuts your hair, tell her to take the oatmeal out of the bowl." Shawn said and Minkus shrugged,

"Sorry, Shawn, but I don't have the energy to trade insults today. I'm not feeling very well."

"Whoa." Shawn's jaw dropped.

"Chills." Topanga agreed.

"Still don't believe it." Melanie shrugged.

"Come on, Mel. You just saw me make Minkus sick." Cory pointed out, "He was insulting Shawn earlier so he must have been fine then."

"Minkus, when exactly did you start to feel sick?" Melanie asked and Minkus looked down.

"When I heard Mr. Feeny's in the hospital." He explained and Melanie's eyes widened.

"The hospital?" Cory leaned forward, "That sounds serious."

"For Mr. Feeny and for you." Topanga pointed out and Cory looked at her,

"Why's it serious for me?"

"Karma—what goes around comes around."

Melanie watched as Topanga and Minkus left and she felt her heart race. What if Cory really had a power to make people sick. She can't get sick! She has to watch Stephanie.

"I didn't do this." She heard Cory say and she looked at him.

"Listen, Cor," Melanie nervously laughed as she got up, "I really can't get sick; I have a little sister to take care of."

Cory and Shawn watched as Melanie raced out of the room.

"You're scary, Cor." Shawn said and Cory looked at him,

"I wish you wouldn't say things like that."

"Just don't look at me, ok? Don't look at me!" Shawn exclaimed before he, too, raced out of the cafeteria.

~8~

Melanie sat in a circle with Topanga, Shawn, Cory, and Minkus.

"If we think it will happen, it will happen." Topanga said as she held a light bulb.

"You're saying we can light this light bulb without any electricity?" Cory asked and Topanga nodded.

"The greatest power company of all, is the human mind." Topanga lectured.

"Apparently Shawn didn't pay his bill." Minkus snipped and Shawn nodded,

"Those are cut last words."

"Sh," Topanga hushed, "Let's focus our psychic energies on lighting the bulb."

"There's no place like home. There's no place like home." Cory whispered and Melanie and Shawn laughed.

"Quiet," Minkus shushed and Cory sighed.

"Aw, none of the electricity made it to the bulb, Topanga. It all got stuck in your hair," Shawn snickered and Melanie hit the back of his head,

"Ow."

"There's your problem. No one here is taking this seriously." Minkus stated, "They don't care about your experiment, Topanga. The only way to demonstrate the power of their selfish minds is to have them concentrate on something they really want to happen."

Shawn and Cory looked at each other before they narrowed their eyes at Minkus.

"Cool!" They high-fived once Minkus disappeared.

"What?" Melanie asked as she looked up from the bulb, "The bulb didn't light."


	24. Season Two and Sneak Peak!

**Yes! We made it to the end of season one!**

 **Season two will be starting on either Saturday or Sunday.**

 **Here's a sneak peak of season four.**

 **This is the episode when Shawn and Melanie get together.**

* * *

"Why are all those guys talking to Shawn's girlfriend?" Topanga asked as she walked up to Cory.

"Well, Shawn and Jennifer broke up this morning." Cory informed and glared at Jennifer, "Look at her. She's already on the prowl."

"Well, how's Shawn taking it?" Topanga asked.

"Are you kidding? Shawn is Shawn. You can't keep Shawn down." Cory looked down at Shawn, "Get up, Shawn."

"She dumped me. She dumped me good. And I didn't even see it coming." Shawn whispered and Melanie leaned her head on Shawn's shoulder,

"Poor, Shawnie." Melanie sighed, "It's gonna be alright. I actually have ice cream this time."

"Look what they've done to my boy." Cory kneeled down next to Shawn.

"Look, Shawn, if it's any consolation, I think you can do a lot better than Jennifer Bassett." Topanga said and she kneeled down next to Melanie.

"You think so?" Shawn asked and Topanga nodded.

"Uh, wait a minute, Topanga. Have you looked at her?" Cory checked and Topanga stood up.

"Okay, she's pretty, tall, she drives a new red convertible." Topanga frowned, "Oh, heck, I'd go out with her."

"Okay, okay," Cory sat down next to Shawn, "I didn't want to say this when you were going out with her, but if you ask me, Shawn, Jennifer Bassett is one stuck-up, conceited girl."

"Do you think so?" Shawn asked and Cory looked at Melanie for help.

"Oh, yeah!" Melanie nodded, "Nose way up in the air, and, frankly, Shawn, I'm not so sure it's her real nose."

"You mean?"

"Exactly," Melanie nodded, "Plastic. Just like her personality."

"So you're really not missing out on anything." Cory patted Shawn's knee, "So get up and be Shawn."

"Yeah," Shawn agreed as he got up, "Yeah, you're right."

Melanie got up and watched with Cory as he made his way over to Jennifer.

"What is he doing?" Melanie asked, concerned.

"I'm not sure." Cory said as his smile slowly dropped.

"You know what I think, Jen?" Melanie watched Shawn say and her mouth dropped, "I think you're conceited."

"Cory, this isn't what's supposed to happen." Melanie panicked, "What's he doing?"

"Yeah, that's right. Conceited and stuck-up and something about your nose." Shawn said and Jen quickly covered her nose.

"What about my nose?" She asked and Shawn blanked.

"Um."

"Who said something about my nose?"

"Um… Um…" Shawn turned and looked at Cory and Melanie.

Melanie jumped when Jennifer's eyes landed on her and she quickly hid behind Cory.

"So it was your best friends Cory and Melanie who made you say these bad, bad things, hmm?" Jennifer asked, seductively.

"Like I'm gonna tell you," Shawn scoffed.

Melanie and Cory watched with wide eyes as Jennifer pulled Shawn into a kiss.

"Cory Matthews: Son of Amy and Alan, Grandson of Nana and Sam. Melanie Strong: Daughter of Maria and Jared, Granddaughter to GramGram and Pops." Shawn spilled.

"How could you sell out my Nana?" Cory gasped.

"You know, I've been thinking." Jennifer said as she fidgeted with Shawn's shirt. "Maybe there still could be something between us."

Jennifer twirled them around so that she had Shawn pressed up against a locker.

"I'd be willing to give it another try." Shawn swooned, "Just as long as you're not mad at Cory and Mel."

"No, Shawn." Jennifer cooed, "They're your best friends. How could I ever come between you and your best friend.

Cory and Melanie watched in shocked as Shawn walked off with Jennifer and flinched back when Jennifer hissed at them.

"You saw that, right?" Melanie asked and Topanga nodded,

"Yeah, I saw that."

"What does that mean exactly?" Cory asked.

"Nothing good for the two of you."

~8~

"Shawn, hey." Cory greeted as he and Melanie slid into the booth seat opposite of him.

"Yeah, um, Shawn." Melanie cleared her throat, "We were just curious. What does it mean when a girl goes-"

Melanie folded her hands as Cory hissed at Shawn.

"She was just being playful," Shawn explained.

"Playful." Cory tightly smiled, "Like a spider when it catches a fly and sucks out its head meat?"

"She was upset; you know?" Shawn shrugged, "I mean, after all those terrible things you said about her."

"Well, Shawn, here's the thing." Melanie shifted in her seat, "We said those things to you to make feelbetter. We didn't like seeing our best friend so crushed after being dumped. So, you shouldn't have said those things to Jennifer."

"May I speak freely?" Cory asked and Shawn shook his head,

"I don't think that's wise."

"Well, maybe I'm not wise, but I think Jennifer or should I say Zathrak the Undead, is a stuck-up, manipulative, cold-blooded," Cory froze when he saw Shawn's eyes flicker up, "Oh, she's right behind me, anticipating my head meat, isn't she?"

"Hello, Cory, Melanie." Melanie heard Jennifer say and she looked up.

"All hail, Zathrak." She murmured and Cory laughed.

Melanie watched as Shawn stood up and Jennifer pushed him down into another booth.

"Cory, what's going on?" Melanie asked as she shielded her eyes with her hand.

"I'm not sure. I think they're talking." Cory responded as he tried to look over the booth.

"Cory, Mel, could you come here for a sec?" Shawn asked and Melanie removed her hand.

"Oh," Cory looked at Mel, "Maybe this is good news."

~8~

"Get up, Cory, Mel." Topanga commanded.

Melanie was lying on the restaurant floor with her head leaning on the back of a booth next to Cory.

"He dumped us," Cory whispered, "He dumped us good. And I thought, 'Oh, maybe this is good news."

"Well, it's about time you kids got home," The manager said, "It's almost eleven."

"I even comforted him when he was upset." Melanie pouted.

"Can we dump him now and say that he wasn't good enough to dump us?" Melanie asked and Topanga sighed.


	25. Back 2 School

There was no doubt in her mind that she was nervous. I mean, she was starting a new school; the ranks and reputations needed to be relearned, maybe pick up some new friends, but the fact that she was the youngest person there scared her; she didn't hold any power anymore. Contrary to that, she was excited to move on to the next big step in her life,

High school.

"Are you ready for high school, Panga?" Melanie asked as she brushed her hair.

"Yeah." Topanga said before she stepped into the bathroom and twirled in her outfit, "Do you think this dress is okay?"

"Yeah, it looks really good. What do you think of my outfit?" Melanie asked as she looked at her black and white, plaid dress with a white T-shirt underneath.

Even though Melanie hated dresses, she _was_ going into high school and making a good first impression is important.

"I think it looks very nice."

"I'm so excited." Melanie smiled and Topanga nodded in agreement.

~8~

"This place is huge!" Melanie gawked as they walked down one of the high school's halls, "Oh, look, there's Cory and Shawn."

"Hi." Topanga greeted as they approached them from behind.

Melanie gave Cory and Shawn a 'really' look as they screamed in fright before turning around.

"Melanie! Topanga!" Cory exclaimed and he and Shawn engulfed them in a hug.

"What's up with you?" Melanie asked as they let go and Cory smiled,

"We just missed you, that's all."

"Cory, you saw me yesterday." Melanie pointed out.

"Well, yesterday was far too long ago." Cory laughed before he pushed Melanie and Topanga in front of him, "Walk in front of us."

Melanie and Topanga walked a few steps before they shared a smirk and turned around.

"What are you staring at?" Topanga asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Uh, nothing." Shawn stammered, "New blouse?"

"Yeah, I got it over the summer." Topanga responded and Shawn looked over at Melanie.

"I like your dress," Shawn complimented and he suddenly felt his hands start to sweat. Frowning, he quickly wiped his hands on his pants before quickly looking up to make sure Melanie didn't see; which she didn't.

"Thanks." Melanie swished the dress around, "I bought it with Topanga over the summer."

"Summer was very good to you." Shawn nodded and Melanie and Topanga gave him a 'really' look.

"Yeah, well, at least what we grew is real." Topanga stated and she reached forward, pulling Shawn's sideburns off.

"Ouch!"

"Hey, Mel, your hair is down." Cory noted and Melanie beamed,

"Yeah, I decided to try something new."

"You don't have a brillo head." Cory proclaimed.

"Yeah," Shawn agreed as he looked in awe at her waist-length, straight, light brown hair, "And your hair is really long."

"I haven't cut it since first-grade." Melanie explained with a shrug.

The bell suddenly rang and a rush of students started to crowd the hallway.

"That's homeroom." Topanga stated as they moved over to the center of the hallway, "I checked the list, we're all together. Room one twenty-eight. We have Mr. Turner."

"Turner… Turner…" Cory muttered as he flipped through his notepad, "He's not on here. What if he was so bad, Eric didn't want to tell me anything? What if he was just like Feeny, only Feenier?"

"Teachers- the one thing here I'm not afraid of. I haven't met one yet that I couldn't take down." Shawn remarked and Melanie rolled her eyes.

"Hey!" Melanie heard someone call and they all turned around to see a young man with a leather jacket and a mullet walk down the steps.

"Hey." They responded as watched him walk over to the phone booth.

"That's Harley. I know it. That's Harley Keiner." Cory stared, wide-eyed.

"That guy's gotta be thirty-years-old." Shawn pointed out.

"He's a lifer." Cory explained, "I think I made a very good first impression."

Melanie watched as Cory raced over to 'Harley' and tilted her head in confusion. The man seemed too old to be Harley, and if he was Harley, why would he speak to them? Harley had a reputation of beating kids up, not talking to them.

"Excuse me, excuse me. Sir? My name's Cory Matthews and I want to be your friend." Cory introduced.

"Cool." 'Harley' said.

"Yeah. I'll hold your coat for you, I'll stand in lunch line for you, I'll even do detention for you." Cory listed as he followed 'Harley'.

"Yeah, nice offer. Why don't you just do the homework?" 'Harley' asked as he looked over at Cory's friends and Melanie gave an awkward wave.

"I'm not sure you want me doing your homework." Cory smiled.

"I want all my students doing the homework," 'Harley' stated as he took off his glasses.

"You're so mean they gave you students?" Cory questioned and his mouth dropped.

"They give all teachers students." 'Harley' pointed out, "I'm Jonathan Turner. You can call me Mr."

Melanie stood in shock as she watched Mr. Turner turn and walk into the classroom across from them.

"You're late." Mr. Turner smiled as the bell rang and Cory, Shawn, Topanga, and Melanie quickly walked into the classroom one-by-one.

~8~

Melanie sat in her new classroom, smiling happily. Their seating wasn't much different than last year; Topanga in the front, Shawn sat in the back, Cory in between Shawn and Topanga, and Melanie next to Shawn. Another huge plus, was that Mr. Turner seemed like a really cool, laid-back teacher. _Maybe high school isn't going to be so hard,_ Melanie though as she watched Mr. Turner sit on his desk and place his feet on the desk in front of him.

"Ok," He began, "I'm here for homeroom, I'm here for English, and I'm here anytime you just want to talk."

"Cool." Cory smiled and Mr. Turner looked at him,

"Did I say you could talk?"

"I thought so." Cory said and Mr. Turner walked up to him.

"You trouble, Matthews? You the guy who's gonna bring down the new teacher?"

"No, sir, that would be Shawn. But Melanie tries her best to keep him in line." Cory froze and Melanie slapped her forehead, "I-I mean that-"

"No, Matthews. Good man, good man." Mr. Turner reassured before he walked away, "Shawn, wait, don't tell me. Now, if Shawn is real trouble, Shawn is gonna try to avoid making eye contact." Mr. Turner smiled as he looked Shawn, who was looking in Melanie's direction, "Hi, Shawn."

"How ya doing?" Shawn asked as he faced Mr. Turner and Mr. Turner sat on the kid's desk next to him.

"I'm good. So, Shawn, buddy, you know anything about _The Odyssey_?" Mr. Turner asked and Shawn nodded,

"Yes, I do."

"Yeah, besides that it's a book."

"No, I don't."

"Ok," Mr. Turner got up and walked to the front of the room, "Who knows what 'odyssey' means?"

Topanga raised her hand and Mr. Turner leaned close to her.

"What's your name?" He whispered.

"Topanga."

"Topanga." He announced.

"It means a difficult journey." Topanga answered and Mr. Turner nodded,

"Yes, it does. An epic journey about a guy who is trying to get home alive. In fantasy worlds, with characters who have their ancient notions about loyalty and heroism."

"Yeah, who wants to read that?" Cory laughed.

"Yeah, apparently you do." Mr. Turner said as he walked up to Cory, "What is that, X-Men?"

"No, it's-"

"What, you think I don't know X-Men when I see." Mr. Turner interrupted and he looked down at the magazine, "It's a great issue, wasn't it?"

"You read X-Men?" Cory asked, excited.

"Do I read X-Men?" Mr. Turner scoffed as he flipped through the magazine, "Fantasy worlds, epic heroism. Yeah, I read X-Men. In fact, let's all read X-Men. Your assignment is to read _The Odyssey_ and this issue of X-Men."

"Finally!" Cory cheered, "A cool teacher."

"My friend, Mr. Matthews, will lead the discussion on the similarities and the differences." Mr. Turner nodded and Cory leaned back to Shawn,

"Feeny with an earring."

~8~

"Shawn, Mel, he's onto us." Cory stated as they walked out of Mr. Turner's room, "He singled us out on the first day."

"No, Cory." Melanie shook her head, "He singled you out."

"And you singled me out." Shawn stated.

"Sorry," Cory apologized before he opened his schedule, "So, where's the next stop on this misery bus?"

"Uh, Earth Science. Let's go." Shawn directed as he turned to leave.

"Wait, I don't have Earth Science. I've got History." Cory frowned and Melanie looked down at her schedule,

"I don't have Earth Science or History."

"You mean-" Shawn paled.

"We're gonna be separated?" Melanie pouted and Cory's eyes widened.

The bell rang and soon a flood of students entered the halls, pushing Melanie, Shawn, and Cory apart.

"No! Cory!" Melanie exclaimed as she got pushed away.

"No! Shawn!" Cory struggled to reunite the three of them.

"No! Mel!" Shawn called as he tried to reach for her.

~8~

Melanie stood behind Cory and Shawn as they kicked open the cafeteria doors.

"Well, you got off to a rocky start, but at least you made it to lunch." Shawn pointed out and Cory frowned,

"Yep, my last meal."

"Chicken." Shawn nodded as they walked over to an open table, "How appropriate."

"You know, I wish it'd been macaroni and cheese." Cory admitted, "Because when Harley punches me and I puke on him, it makes a bigger mess."

"What a great idea." Melanie said as she sat down, "But an even better idea is to ask your brother for help."

"I can't. I signed a contract." Cory sighed.

Melanie, Cory, and Shawn quickly got up. Melanie made her way over to Eric with Shawn, and smiled politely at the girls he was sitting with.

"Hello." She greeted with a smile. "I was wondering if I could speak with Eric."

"What are you doing?" Eric hissed before smiling at the girls.

"It's about your brother." Melanie whispered.

"It's school hours. I have no brother."

"Eric, who's this?" One of the girls asked as she referred to Shawn.

"Oh, Shawn—not that I know him or anything." Eric quickly covered.

"Too bad." The girl purred and Shawn laughed slightly, blushing

"Yeah, and at three, you'll really have no brother." Shawn whispered before he smiled at the girls.

Melanie waited until Eric got up before she walked back to her seat. Taking a bit of her macaroni, she looked up and saw that Eric was discreetly talking to Cory by the water fountain.

"All right!" Some yelled as they busted into the cafeteria causing Melanie and Shawn to jump, "Who took the last piece of chicken?! I am going to kill the guy who took the last piece of chicken!"

"Is that Harley?" Melanie whispered to Shawn as they looked at him in fear.

"Yeah."

"Cory's dead."

~8~

Melanie raced down the steps to Cory while Shawn jumped over the rail.

"We got here as quick as we could." Melanie promised as she shifted her bag onto her shoulder.

"Yeah," Shawn agreed, "Listen, we just want you to know that whatever happens, we're right here with you."

"Thank, guys," Cory nodded, "But I'm pretty sure this is something I gotta face alone."

"I mean, if that's what you want, Cory." Melanie frowned, "It just didn't feel right leaving you here."

"Yeah," Shawn nodded, "We couldn't leave you here to die alone."

"There you are, Shawn." A pretty blonde girl said as she rounded the corner and Shawn swooned,

"Now it feels right."

Melanie felt her heart drop but she quickly shook her head, Cory was the one who was about to die. _He_ was the one who needed her attention, not Shawn.

"Well, it's five after three," Cory sighed, "Maybe he's not gonna show."

"And maybe I'm just trying to be casually late," Melanie looked to see Harley standing in the entrance way of the boys bathroom, "Mr. Anal-compulsive."

"Look, don't toy with me." Cory threatened as he walked over to Harley, "I was looking forward to high school. I had a plan. I gave you a chance to change your whole future and not be a guy who beats up on kids who are smaller than you, for the rest of your life."

"You're giving me a chance?" Harley scoffed and Cory nodded.

"Yeah."

"Well, here I stand at the crossroads of my life." Harley claimed, dramatically, "Yet, I am what I am, and I must kill you."

Melanie didn't know what to do.

She couldn't go help fight him off with Cory because she would be crushed.

Her standing height right now was 5'0.

"All right," She whispered to herself before she turned and raced down the hall.

"Mr. Turner! Mr. Turner!" Melanie cried as she pushed the back door open and saw him standing by a motorcycle, "Mr. Turner!"

Melanie beamed when she saw him turn around.

"Mr. Turner, my friend needs help." She explained as she walked over to him.

"Oh, who are you?" Mr. Turner asked.

"I'm Melanie Strong. I'm in your homeroom."

"Yeah, I know you. You're friends with Matthews and Hunter. The one who supposedly keeps Hunter under control." Mr. Turner noted as he remembered her face from earlier today.

"I am, but soon it's just going to be Hunter." Melanie bounced on her feet, filled with adrenaline.

"What?"

Melanie sighed and quickly explained, "Cory is going to get beat up by Harley Keiner and… he's just too young to die. He can't leave me alone with Shawn!"

"Okay, kid. Where are they right now?"

"Follow me," Melanie turned around and quickly walked back through the back door. She turned around to make sure that Mr. Turner was following her and once she saw that he was, she picked up her pace.

"There," Melanie whispered as she peered at Cory, Eric, and Harley from behind a locker.

"Awe, how sweet," Harley cooed, "A chance to wipe out the whole Baboon family."

Melanie watched in terror as Harley pushed Eric and Cory and looked at Mr. Turner, who was casually leaning against the edge of the wall.

"It's three o'clock, guys." Mr. Turner called and Harley whipped around, "We gotta hose the place down."

Harley sneered, "Who the heck are you?"

"Oh, I'm your worst nightmare," Mr. Turner responded as he walked up to Harley and Melanie cautiously moved forward, still hiding behind the locker, "I'm a teacher."

"Oh, a teacher. No wonder I don't recognize you." Harley snickered, "What do you teach?"

"English Lit. and kick boxing." Melanie's jaw dropped and Harley straightened up, "What seems to be the problem?"

"Nothing, we were working it out." Harley responded and Mr. Turner walked between him and Cory,

"Actually, it looks like you're about to pound this kid into the ground. See that's a problem for me." Mr. Turner clapped Harley on the back, "Cause if one of my students gets killed the first day-I look bad. People start to talk; I get a reputation, I'm careless with students, you know? So do me a favor, don't kill my student."

"Could I have taken you?" Harley asked once Mr. Turner let him go.

"Nah."

"But I could've taken the kid though."

"Good for you."

Melanie quietly waited for Harley to walk past her before she made her way towards Cory and Eric.

"So, Odysseus, looks like you may get home safely." Mr. Turner said, "You should be grateful that your friend came and got me just and time. She's a quick thinker."

Melanie lightly blushed and Cory smiled, "Thanks, Mr. Turner. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Read the book." Mr. Turner commanded as he turned to leave.

"I lived it." Cory said before he approached Eric, "Hey, Eric, I want to tell you something."

"What do you want to say to me?" Eric asked and he crossed his arms.

"Thanks for being my brother."

"Do I know you?" Eric asked and Cory smiled as he walked past him.

"Shawn, Shawn." Cory whispered as he and Mel walked over to a locker, "The fight's over. Our high school reputations are set."

Mel pulled open the locker door,

"I'm still working on mine," Shawn smiled before he was quickly pulled back in by the blonde girl.

Melanie quickly closed the door and looked at Cory who just laughed,

"Big lockers in high school."

* * *

 **YAY! Season two is here and they're high school! There will be many exciting things coming up!**

 **Shawn's a ladies man and Melanie's not going to take that well.**

 **Melanie's going to popular with boys and Shawn's not gonna take that well.**

 **It's gonna cause some good-old-fashion friction and jealousy.**

 **Thank you for reviewing and don't be afraid to review or PM me.**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	26. Pairing Off

Melanie didn't want to move her hand from her eyes.

Watching a couple make out after lunch was not something she had planned to see, nor was it something she ever wanted to see. It was like they were trying to swallow one another. She was sure she had heard Eric talking about this to someone, it was something called a French kiss. Melanie shuddered and leaned her dropping elbow on Shawn's shoulder, so that she could still cover her eyes and rest her arm.

"Richard and Cindy?" Cory asked as he watched the two juniors kiss.

"Very deeply in love," Shawn sighed and Melanie rolled her eyes. They weren't in love. They just needed a snog.

"No, baby Cory, you're too innocent." Melanie insisted as she slapped her free hand over Cory's eyes.

"Why don't you cover Shawn's eyes?" Cory complained as he pulled Melanie's hand off with a frown.

"He's not innocent at all." Melanie laughed and Shawn frowned, he's innocent. Maybe he made out with a few chicks, but he's still innocent.

"Since when?" Cory asked as ignored Melanie and continued to stare at the couple.

"Lunch," Shawn stated as he struggled to pull Melanie's hand from her eyes.

"No! Stop!" Melanie protested and gave a small squeak when Shawn successfully pulled her hand away, leaving her to stare at the couple in front of her.

"What did they eat?" Cory asked as he continued to ignore Shawn and Melanie.

"I don't know, but it looks like it wasn't enough," Melanie grimaced.

"Ah, Mr. Heckle and Mr. Jeckle." Mr. Feeny sighed as he walked down the stairs and towards Cory, Shawn, and Melanie, "Don't we have classes to attend."

"Mr. Feeny, shouldn't you break them up," Cory asked as he pointed at Richard and Cindy.

"Or you could hose them down," Melanie added with a shrug and Shawn rolled his eyes. He didn't understand what the big deal was. People kiss all the time in high school. Melanie and Cory were just going to have to get used to it.

Mr. Feeny smiled softly as he looked at the couple, "Oh, I wouldn't interrupt their tryst, Mr. Matthews, Miss. Strong. They're both A-minus students and happily struck by cupid."

"So, if they were C-minus students, you wouldn't let them kiss?" Cory asked and Shawn raised his eyebrow.

"School policy, don't you know?" Mr. Feeny stated and Melanie laughed.

"So I can't kiss?" Cory checked as he pointed to himself.

"With your grades, Mr. Matthews, you can't even shake hands." Mr. Feeny confirmed before he started to walk off.

"Just watch, Mr. Feeny," Cory stopped him, "By the end of the year, I plan to have an A-plus average and a hickey."

Melanie raised her eyebrows and Mr. Feeny clapped him on the back, "Dare to dream, Mr. Matthews."

Cory sighed as they turned around to head to their class when Melanie noticed another couple making out and groaned. What was this? Mating season?

"Holy cow." Cory's jaw dropped as he stared at the couple, "Jerry and Shoshanna?"

"Deeply," Shawn confirmed with a nod.

"Has the whole world paired off?" Cory exclaimed.

"Pretty much." Shawn shrugged as he looked around.

"Is there a list posted somewhere where I find out what girl's been assigned to me?" Cory asked as he looked at the couples around him.

"You want a girlfriend." Shawn smiled.

"No, not a girlfriend," Cory denied as he placed his bag on a bench, "Just a girl who's like a friend, but not a girlfriend."

Melanie tilted her head, "Cory, is there something you want to tell me."

"Yeah, you're way too much like a sister to me," Cory stated, which was true. Cory had known Melanie since Kindergarten and even though he was saying he didn't want a girlfriend, he wanted a girlfriend. He knew that he could probably pair off with Melanie, but she was way too much like a sister to him and the whole thing would probably be really uncomfortable and awkward. He also knew that Shawn thought very differently than he did when it came to Melanie.

"Okay" Melanie shrugged and looked around, "What about the new girl?"

"No." Cory quickly shook his head, "I mean I don't know her." Melanie and Shawn gave him knowing looks and he frowned, "Shut up."

"Look," Cory started to explain, "I want someone I know, someone who knows me, someone who we know each other, someone like, uh, Topanga!" Cory exclaimed and he walked towards her, "Topanga, my honey. May I call you honey?"

"No." Topanga deadpanned and Cory fidgeted with his sleeves.

"He totally likes her," Melanie stated as she watched the two interact, not noticing that Shawn was looking at her.

Shawn laughed, "Yeah."

Melanie turned to Shawn and she watched as he quickly shifted his bag onto his shoulder.

"So, uh, who are you with?" Shawn nervously asked and Melanie brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"No one." She stated and Shawn let out a sigh of relief, "I don't really find it necessary to date just because everyone else is." Melanie tilted her head and pondered, "Though, I have been asked a lot."

Shawn felt an uncomfortable feeling rise in his chest, "But you said no, right?"

"Isn't that what I just told you?" Melanie asked as she raised her eyebrow.

"Gimme a name!" Cory yelled and Melanie's attention snapped back to him.

"For the record," Cory informed as he walked back over to them, "I dumped her."

"That's how I saw it." Shawn agreed and Melanie rolled her eyes, he hadn't been paying attention to them.

~8~

"Well, Dubin's out sick again." Shawn sighed as he twirled his pencil.

"Health teacher sick again?" Cory asked, "Not a lot of credibility."

"Do you think we'll have another creepy substitute?" Melanie asked, the side of her face laying on her desk, "The last guy was too weird. He kept giggling whenever he called out someone's name."

A blur of black fabric swished past Melanie's eyes and she watched as Shawn's eyes widened.

"Wow," He gasped and he quickly collected his books, "That is no substitute. That is the real thing."

Melanie rolled her eyes as Shawn raced to the front of the room.

 _Typical,_ she thought and she slowly lifted her head up to see the sub.

There was no doubt that the sub was pretty. She had long, curly brown hair, and she was tall. _Just the type Shawn seems to like_ , Melanie thought as she watched Shawn race to the front of the room and sit in a seat.

"Good afternoon, class. I'm Miss. Kelly," She introduced, "I'll be filling in for Mr. Dubin for the next few days."

Shawn quickly stood up, "On behalf of the entire class, I'd like to say, stay as long as you like."

"Now, right now, you seem to be covering-"

"CPR," Shawn flirted as he walked closer, "And I'm today's dummy."

"No," Miss. Kelly denied as she looked at the paper, "Actually, we seem to be up to human reproduction, which I hope we can discuss in a mature fashion."

Melanie shared an unamused look with Topanga as the class started to giggle and laugh. Melanie didn't understand what was so funny about reproduction. It was a fact of life, just like puberty and hormones.

"Oh, stop being so young," Shawn scolded before he turned back to Miss. Kelly, "You know, I'm not as young as they are. I've stayed back, like, fifty times."

Miss. Kelly faked surprise, "Really? How old are you?"

"Twenty-four." Shawn blurted and Melanie mentally slapped herself. Shawn _really_ thought Miss. Kelly was buying it.

"Really? What are you doing in a seventh-grade classroom?" Miss. Kelly asked, crossing her arms.

"I'm a cop."

"Sit down."

"All right, but I'm watching you." Shawn winked as he sat back down in his seat.

"All right," Miss. Kelly began, "Who can tell us the name of the organ where the eggs are stored?" She walked up to Shawn, "Officer?"

"Oh, sorry, Miss. Kelly. I don't have that stuff. I can name the stuff I have, or at least what I call them." Shawn said and Melanie's eyes widened in embarrassment. She was friends with _that_.

"All right, the place where the eggs are stored." Miss. Kelly tried again.

"What are the gonads?" Cory shrugged.

"No, sorry. I was looking for, what are the ovaries?"

"Oh, the o yeah, I always mix those two up." Cory explained, nonchalantly.

"Try not to." Miss. Kelly smiled, "Your future will be brighter. Can you tell us anything about ovulation or how pregnancy occurs?"

"Well, the man's got the sperm and the woman's got the egg. Now, once a month, an egg slides down the Philippine tube towards the uterus," Cory lectured and Melanie snorted, "The first sperm to reach the egg wins, it gets a medal, it's born, you name him Cory, you push him out the door, and nothing makes sense for the rest of his life."

"Congratulations," Miss. Kelly smiled, "You seem to have a thorough understanding of the life cycle."

"Hey, I live it." Cory replied with a shrug.

"Any questions?" Miss. Kelly asked as she looked around the classroom and Melanie shook her head.

"Yes?" Cory motioned for her to come closer,

"How do you get a girl to say, 'hi'?"

~8~

"Listen, John, I'm not interested." Melanie informed as she closed her locker. Right after she had gotten out of Health Class, John, a student from one of the other schools, had asked her if she wanted to go out with him. Of course, she told him no—like she'd told all the other boys—but he seemed extremely persistent and it was really starting to get on her nerves.

"Come on, Melanie." John pushed up his glasses, "Everyone is getting together. You don't want to be alone do you?"

Melanie rolled her eyes, "I don't care what everyone else is doing; I care about what I do."

John gave a huff as Melanie walked past him and towards Shawn and Cory.

"Listen," John grabbed her arm, stopping her, "This is your last chance with me. You sure you want to give it up?"

"Yes," Melanie tightly smiled, "Now let go of my arm."

Melanie gave her arm a tug and walked away. This was getting absurd. _At least Topanga understands,_ Melanie thought as she got closer to Shawn and Cory.

Melanie sighed, "Hey."

"Hey." Cory responded as he continued to look at all the couples around him.

"Where'd you go?" Shawn asked, "One minute you were there, then poof!"

"I stopped by my locker," Melanie explained, tucking her hair behind her ear, "This couple thing has gotten crazy."

"Yeah," Cory agreed, "Everybody's one except me!"

"Listen, I found something that kind of works." Shawn offered.

"What?" Cory asked, looking at Shawn.

"This." Melanie watched as Shawn pushed his hair back and scratched her nose.

"What's that supposed to do?" She asked and Shawn smiled.

"Just wait."

"Hi, Shawn." Melanie turned her head to see a girl wave at Shawn and Shawn smirked.

"Wow," Cory gasped as he looked at the girl, "From across the hall."

"Yep," Shawn bragged, "I got a thirty-foot range."

"What, you just jerk your head?" Cory asked and Shawn sighed in disappointment.

"Watch again. I'm still young enough, I can do this twice in a row." Melanie watched as Shawn ran his hands through his hair.

Melanie opened her mouth and Shawn held up his finger,

"Just wait."

Melanie's brows furrowed as she heard another girl call him.

"Shawn, it's so strange." The girl said as she wrapped her hand in Shawn's, "I was just thinking about you."

"And that's without conditioner," Shawn smirked, walking off with the girl.

"You're not really going to try that are yo-" Melanie froze as she watched Cory attempt to do Shawn's hair trick and fail horribly every time. It looked like he was gripping his head in agony.

"Cory, what is it?" Topanga exclaimed as she raced over to him and Cory turned to her, his hands on his head.

Cory smiled, "You were just drawn to me, weren't you?"

"No," Topanga exclaimed, serious, "I thought you had head lice. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm great."

"Oh, good." Topanga smiled and gave her hair a little flip.

"Hi, Topanga." A boy said as he walked over to them, "I was just thinking of you."

Melanie watched as the boy threw his arm over Topanga's shoulder and she narrowed her eyes. She as going to have to do a background check on him.

"I need new hair," Cory stated.

Melanie rolled her eyes and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Hi, Melanie. I was just think-"

"Not interested."

~8~

"Nobody told me about this girl thing, Shawn." Cory complained as he opened the front door, "I mean, no one warned me. Not even you, Mel. I thought they were just there. I didn't know they were interactive."

"You'll get the hang out it," Shawn consoled as he and Cory walked into the kitchen and Mel sat down on the couch.

"Coke, please." She called.

"I just do hair," Shawn said as they reentered the living room and he handed Mel a coke.

"If you're so concerned, why don't you ask your brother." Melanie offered, taking a sip of her Coke.

"You know what? Let's just forget this whole subject. There are a million other things to worry about. I mean, we're too young to worry about finding mates." Cory stated and Shawn got up and grabbed his bag.

"You're right. See ya."

"Where are you going." Cory asked as Shawn opened the door.

"Off to meet girls. I've got a thirty-foot range." Shawn ran his hand through his hair.

"Is that you, Shawn?" A faint voice called and Cory narrowed his eyes,

"Get out. You too, Mel. Don't think I didn't see that hair flip." Melanie shrugged, grabbed her bag, and walked the door.

"See you tomorrow, Cory." She called with a wave.

~8~

"So we find, in Fielding's novel, the character Tom Jones is absolutely irresistible to women," Mr. Turner said, "Isn't that right, Matthews?"

"Uh, yeah, that's right," Cory tore his eyes off the blonde next to him and looked at Mr. Turner.

"What's right?"

"What you just said.

"What'd I just say?"

"You weren't listening, either?"

"Matthews," Mr. Turner sighed, "Keep your head facing this way. Shawn, tell your buddy what I was saying."

"Uh, he was saying, 'Matthews, you're not listening'." Shawn told Cory and Mr. Turner rolled his eyes.

"Thank you," He sighed, "Did either of you guys do the reading assignment?"

"Some of it." Cory nodded.

"What'd you read," Mr. Turner asked as he looked down at Cory.

"I read the page you handed us with the reading assignment." Cory smiled and the bell rang.

Melanie quickly packed her bag and made her way out the door, when an arm suddenly grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Hey!"

"It's just me," Shawn said and Melanie relaxed, "I think Cory's about to get a girl."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Melanie let out a sigh and stood next to Shawn behind the door, waiting for Cory to ask the girl out.

"Uh, tomorrow, after school." Cory said.

"Okay, see you then."

"Has a brand-new couple taken shape before my very eyes?" Shawn teased as Cory exited the classroom.

"What can I say?" Cory smiled, "I've got the boom!"

~8~

"So, Cory went on a date with the new girl?" Topanga asked Melanie as they grabbed books from their locker.

"Yeah," Melanie nodded, "He said it went well and that she agreed to meet him again."

Topanga nodded as she quietly closed her locker and turned to face Melanie, "Derek told me that you threatened him in the hallway."

"Ah," Melanie winced as she felt Topanga's glare, "I just wanted to tell him that if he hurt you, I'd hurt him."

Topanga smiled, "Well, I appreciate that."

Melanie relaxed and closed her locker, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Mel," Shawn exclaimed as he walked over to her and threw his arm over her shoulders, "I was just thinking of you."

Melanie rolled her eyes but gave a light smile as she walked down the hall with Topanga and Shawn. The only person missing was Cory, but she was sure that soon enough, he'd have his arm around Topanga.

* * *

 **What a magical hair flip.**

 **We are beginning to see how Melanie feels about Shawn's player ways.**

 **Thank you for all the reviews and please don't be afraid to review or PM me.**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	27. Notorious

Melanie stared at the newspaper in her hands, shocked. Why would someone do this? She looked around to see everybody laughing when her eyes zoned in on a form standing close to Mr. Turner's room.

'Cory," Melanie shoved the newspaper in his hands, "Did the person who I think did this, do this?"

Cory took the paper and held it up, looking at the cover before looking at Melanie.

"We changed it yesterday," Cory frowned before looking back at the paper, "It was just a joke, but I changed it before we left."

"So it is this the person." Melanie muttered as she watched Shawn waltz over to Harley before walking over to them.

"Shawn, are you farther gone than I ever imagined?" Cory asked as he held up the newspaper to Shawn.

"No, no." Shawn denied with wild eyes, "I'm not gone. I've arrived! I am known! I rule this school! My fame here will live forever."

"Except nobody knows you did this." Melanie pointed out as she referenced to the paper.

"What, you think that bothers me?" Shawn asked, "I know I did it, and that's enough for me."

Melanie raised her eyebrows as two juniors walked down the hall carrying a newspaper,

"I wonder who did this?" The brunette exclaimed as they walked past Melanie,

"If it was my boyfriend, I would do anything." The blonde sighed. Melanie watched in disgust as Shawn's jaw dropped and his eyes trailed after the two juniors.

"Oh, it's killing me." Shawn moaned as he watched the two juniors walk away and Melanie and Cory stared a look.

~8~

"Ok, _The_ _Scarlett Letter_ Hester Prynne has a red letter 'A' on her dress," Mr. Turner began as he wrote a giant 'A' on the chalkboard, "Now, everybody knows what the A stands for, right?"

"Boring?" Cory asked and the class laughed.

"Hey, everybody, don't laugh at Matthews, okay? He's never seen an A before." Mr. Turner sassed and Melanie choked down a laugh, "Okay, the buzz is all over the Massachusetts Colony that Hester has taken pure out of Puritan. It's a scandal. It's gossip," He held up the school newspaper, "It could've come right out of today's headlines."

A loud cough interrupted the class's laughter and everyone turned to the doorway.

"Mr. Feeny," Mr. Turner straightened up, "Good morning."

Mr. Feeny sighed as he entered the room, "Actually, Mr. Turner, I've had better."

Melanie watched as Mr. Feeny picked up the newspaper and turned to face the class. She thought that what Shawn did was sort of funny, but at the same time, this was a new school for Mr. Feeny and he had to 'prove his power' in a way.

"You see, I have been forced on this particular morning to go from room to room, asking anyone with information about this journalistic prank to come forward. Hmmm?" Melanie tilted her head so that she wasn't looking Mr. Feeny in the eye, "I will go a lot easier on the perpetrator if he or she or they," Melanie felt his glare intensify, "Voluntarily confess. Very well, I will now return you to your lecture on…" Mr. Feeny looked at the board, "On the letter 'A'. Keep up the good work."

~8~

Melanie stood next to Shawn at his locker with her nose buried in a new book she got. Shawn had said something about 'proving something' or something like that before he grabbed her arm and dragged her to his locker. He wouldn't tell her the news now because Cory wasn't here yet.

"Okay, a rumor was going around that the 'weeny' headline was just a typo. That nobody did it, like I don't exist." Shawn explained once Cory came over. "Check it out."

Melanie gaped at the Mr. Feeny's office door. Shawn had changed the word Feeny to Weeny on his office door.

"Now I exist," Shawn boasted, looking proudly at his work and Cory gasped, "I am a somebody. What a beauty, huh? I snuck out early this morning and changed it. Looks like the real thing, doesn't it?"

"Except for this drip," Cory pointed out as he leaned in and gave it a poke.

"Shawn, you're out of control!" Melanie exclaimed, looking at Shawn and he smiled.

"Yeah, I am." Shawn clapped Cory and Melanie on the back, "Tell your friends."

Melanie rolled her eyes as Shawn walked off and looked back up at the 'W'. _What is Shawn thinking?_ She thought as she looked at the 'W' in wonder.

"There're your criminals, Mr. Weeny!" Melanie heard someone say and she turned around to see the janitor pointing at her and Cory. Mr. Feeny gave the janitor a look before turning back to Cory and Melanie.

"Mr. Feeny, we did not paint this 'W'." Cory defended as he crossed his arms and Melanie nodded in agreement.

"And the headline in the school newspaper?" Mr. Feeny asked as he raised his eyebrow.

"It wasn't us!" Melanie exclaimed as she backed Cory up. It was all true; why didn't he believe them?

Mr. Feeny sighed, "Miss. Strong, our own esteemed Janitor Bud placed you two at the scene of the crime."

"I seen em with my good eye." Janitor Bud nodded.

"Well, that'll be all, Janitor Bud." Mr. Feeny dismissed and Melanie watched as Janitor Bud gave a nod and shoved his way through the crowd of students.

"Scene of the crime?" Melanie asked, giving Mr. Feeny a look. She hadn't been with them when they had stayed after school and gone home with Eric, she had left with Topanga because the babysitter couldn't watch Stephanie again meaning that she had to get home as soon as possible.

"Janitor Bud said he saw you and Cory at the scene of the crime toying with the computer after school. There was another boy with you who ran out seconds before you two." Mr. Feeny stated and Melanie and Cory shared a look of disbelief.

"Mr. Feeny, we're totally innocent. My hands are clean." Cory held up his hands and Melanie gasped, his finger had black paint of it, "I didn't do it, I swear!"

"All right, then give me the name of the person who did." Mr. Feeny challenged. Melanie and Cory didn't dare meet Mr. Feeny's eyes and looked at the ground instead, "I see." Mr. Feeny hummed, "Mr. Matthews and Miss. Strong, you both have until the end of school tomorrow to give me the perpetrator's name. Otherwise, you will be suspended."

Melanie looked up as Mr. Feeny walked away and gave a sigh. This wasn't fair.

~8~

"Melanie Grace Strong," Maria screeched at her daughter from the other end of the phone, "Why did your principle call your father and I to tell us that you were meeting him in your office tomorrow?"

Melanie winced at the high pitched voice and took a deep breath, "I'm sort of a…. a… a witness to an incident in the school."

"Oh," Her mother calmed down, "So you didn't do anything wrong."

"No, of course not." Melanie lied, looking at the homework in front of her.

"Oh, okay then. Bye." Melanie placed the phone down as her mother hang up and turned to look at Stephanie. "What should I do, Steph?"

"Me want uppie." Steph cried as she held her arms up and Melanie complied.

"Do you want to learn some Algebra?" Melanie asked and Stephanie nodded her head, not knowing what Algebra meant.

~8~

Melanie waited for Cory to collect his stuff. She nervously bit her lip at the thought of the upcoming afternoon. She couldn't rat Shawn out! He gets in so much trouble already; she didn't want him to get in any more than he had too.

"Mr. Matthews, Miss. Strong," Melanie turned around to see Mr. Feeny walking down the stairs towards her and Cory, "I trust you're not forgetting our three-thirty meeting."

"Come on, Mr. Feeny. It was just a little prank." Cory tried again and Melanie nodded in agreement, trying to get Mr. Feeny to believe them and to let it go.

"Ah," Mr. Feeny sighed, "You think I'm acting like a weenie, Mr. Matthews. Am I acting like a weenie?"

"You know we didn't do anything." Melanie exclaimed as she gave her foot a little stomp. She was getting tired of this. They didn't do anything and he knew it, he just wanted to get Shawn in trouble.

"But I know you know who did, and until you tell me who it is, the only person I can talk to is the two of you." Mr. Feeny turned around to leave, "Three-thirty, Mr. Matthews, Miss. Strong."

"Did you tell him?" Shawn asked as he raced up to them.

"What do you think?" Cory sneered, a look of disbelief crossing his face.

Shawn sighed in relief, "Thanks, guys."

"You're welcome." Cory clapped his hands together, "Cause it was just a little prank, right? And nothing else is ever gonna happen again, right?"

"Right," Shawn nodded, "So, have you seen this?"

Melanie looked over Cory's shoulder at the paper in his hands and read out loud, "In our last edition incorrectly named the new principle as Mr. George Weeny." Melanie let out a breath of relief, "Good, it's over."

"Read on, Mel." Shawn urged and Melanie looked at him suspiciously.

'His true name is 'Weeny Weeny." Melanie froze but continued, "Weeny, weeny, weeny, weeny, weeny, weeny, weeny, weeny. Continued on page three, column one." Cory quickly flipped to that page and Melanie read, "Weeny."

"Are you completely deranged?" Melanie exclaimed and Shawn nodded,

"Yes, I am. But I didn't do this."

"You didn't?" She asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"No! Somebody ripped my idea. I'll never be a legend now." Shawn sulked and Cory started to read the paper again.

~8~

"So, you gonna be shootin' some hoops today after school?" Shawn asked as Cory stood up.

Cory shrugged, "I can't."

"How bout you, Mel?" Shawn checked and Mel shook her head,

"We have a little meeting with Mr. Feeny after school today. He's going to ask us some questions on something we didn't do and if we don't tell him who did it, we get suspended." Melanie explained and Shawn stood up, holding out a hand to help her up.

"And I totally appreciate you doing this for me." Shawn thanked as Melanie grabbed his hand and he pulled her up, "I mean, after I blew up that mailbox last year, Dad said one more screw-up and he'd ship me off to military school."

"You know," Cory began as he walked closer to Shawn, "We can only cover for you for so long."

"How long?" Shawn panicked and Mr. Feeny walked out of his office.

"Weeny, weeny, weeny, weeny, weeny, weeny, weeny, weeny." Mr. Feeny read, looking up from his paper, "Don't be late, Mr. Matthews, Miss. Strong."

~8~

"So in the end, Hester Prynne is faced with a pretty tough decision, huh? Does she rat on the person who's responsible for her predicament, or does she keep his secret and face the scorn of society?" Mr. Turner looked over to Cory, Shawn, and Melanie, "Pretty relevant stuff. Eh, Matthews? Strong? Hunter?"

"Sir! It stood for adultery, Sir!" Shawn shouted at the sound of his name and Melanie jumped in her seat. Looking around, he noticed that they were all still in class and he smiled sheepishly, "I was practicing for military school."

Hearing the bell ring, Melanie packed up her stuff and waited for Cory so they could head to Feeny's office together.

"You can go, Strong." Mr. Turner said and Melanie turned to look at him, "Tell Mr. Feeny that Cory's going to be a few minutes late."

Melanie gave a nod and headed out to Mr. Feeny's office.

~8~

"Listen, about the headline and all well, I'm sorry for what happened." Cory said as he entered the room and sat in the chair next to Melanie, "Must've hurt being called… you know."

"Wasn't if I never heard it before," Mr. Feeny stated as he looked over some paper, "It was practically my nickname growning up." His head shot up at the information he accidentally revealed, "Uh, that's not to leave this room."

"I guess it's more of a big deal than I thought," Cory stated.

"As the principal of this high school, I'm expected to keep order." Mr. Feeny informed them and they looked at him, "Unchecked, these pranks undermine my authority and breed disrespect."

"So, I guess we'll get punished for something we didn't do." Cory said and Melanie nodded in agreement. Her parents wouldn't be home for a while; however, she was more concerned about how Topanga and Mrs. Lawrence would take it. Melanie shuddered at the thought.

"Name the person who did, and you walk out of here scot-free." Mr. Feeny offered and Cory and Melanie looked at each other.

"I'm sorry, we can't do that." Cory apologized.

"You thought about this, and that's your final answer?"

"Yeah."

"You've decided that protecting a friendship is more important than the grisly punishment I shall now dispense."

"Mr. Feeny, he did mean to hurt anyone." Melanie voiced and he looked at her, "He just wanted to do something that would make him somebody special."

"Ah," Mr. Feeny sighed, "to be somebody special is a quality from within, Miss. Strong. To give you an example, I think it's a very rare quality for you to put a friend's welfare before your own."

Cory leaned forward, "But, just a second ago, you wanted us to rat on him."

"As your new principal, yes. But as your teacher, as someone who lived and watched you grow up, I never expected it for a moment." Mr. Feeny explained softly and Melanie gave a small smile.

~8~

"So how long are suspended for?" Cory asked as he, Melanie, and Mr. Feeny exited Mr. Feeny's office.

"You're not. Detention for five days. One day for each letter in 'weeny'. Which in this instance," Mr. Feeny closed his door to reveal Shawn eating a snack bar, "Should be properly spelled W-E-E-N-I-E. Shouldn't it, Mr. Hunter."

"You told him?" Shawn accused as he walked over to Cory and Melanie.

"What do you think?" Melanie asked as she referenced to Mr. Feeny.

"I think you wouldn't," Shawn squeezed his eyes shut, "I'm an idiot."

"They refused to rat you out, Mr. Hunter." Mr. Feeny informed as Shawn turned to face him, "And now they face a week of detention in your honor. But the punishment for not being caught, Mr. Hunter, is farm far worse."

"I did it, Mr. Feeny," Shawn confessed, "I confess."

"I will be watching you every moment of your high school career, which, in your case, could be decades." Mr. Feeny stated, looking at Shawn's panicked face.

"But I just confessed," Shawn protested.

"Too late, Mr. Hunter. You are my new special friend," Mr. Feeny said as he gave Shawn a glare before walking off.

Shawn turned and looked at Cory and Melanie, "Why didn't you turn me in?"

* * *

 **Thank you for all the reviews!**

 **Don't be afraid to review or to PM me.**


	28. Me and Mr Joad

"Ok, we're talkin about _The Grapes of Wrath_. Who can give us an overview of what we've read so far?" Mr. Turner asked as he sat on his desk, and Melanie watched with raised eyebrows as Cory's hand shot up.

"Muscle spasm, Matthews?" Mr. Turner wondered and Cory shook his head.

"No, sir." Cory dropped his hand, "I'd like to take a shot."

"Ok, everybody, give him room." Mr. Turner braced as he looked over at Cory and Melanie smiled in amusement.

Cory folded his hands neatly in front of him, "I think the conclusion of the book shows the Joad family's been pretty much destroyed by the greedy farm bosses, but the author's telling us they still have their dignity, and they're gonna fight on."

"What just happened?" Mr. Turner blinked and Melanie scratched the back of her head. _Did Cory actually read the book_ , she wondered as she looked at Cory's smug face.

"You're a disgrace to the entire back row." Shawn scolded to Cory as Mr. Turner got up and walked towards them.

"Ok, this story about migrant farm workers in the 1930s shows us that powerful people will exploit the powerless until they organize and stand up for their rights." Mr. Turner explained, looking down at Cory's raised hand, "Yes."

"Yeah, the thing about the 1930s- will we have to know dates for the test?" Cory asked, looking at Mr. Turner curiously.

"The date is not as important as understanding the historical context of the whole struggle for the workers' rights." Mr. Turner explained and Shawn raised his hand.

"Excuse me," He began as he pulled out his book, "What page is the historical context on?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"We need to know that for the test, right?" Shawn pointed out as he looked at Mr. Turner in confusion.

"No, forget about the test," Mr. Turner exclaimed as he shook his book, "I want you to learn about this book to add to your personal knowledge, not just to pass a test. I don't want to hear any more about the test." He looked at Cory's raised hand, "What?"

"Uh, when is the test?"

"What did I just say?"

"Okay, could I just ask one more question about the you know, the written thing you put a grade on that tells our parents we're idiots. There won't be any essays, will there?" Cory asked and Mr. Turner sighed.

"Matthews, as long as you read the book and open your yap during class discussion, no test. Okay? Now can we possibly return to what is important here?"

Melanie quickly grabbed her stuff and raced out of the room with a smile, "No test!"

~8~

"In _The Grapes of Wrath_ , we see that the struggle to organize, to get justice for the migrant farm workers, was long and difficult," Melanie watched Mr. Turner suspiciously, eyeing the papers in his hand. Something didn't feel right, "Heads were broken, people were killed, a lot of blood."

"Sounds like Bingo night in my trailer park," She heard Shawn mumble and she tilted her head. She didn't know that Shawn lived in a trailer park. Melanie gave a light shrug and brought her attention back to Mr. Turner who was handing out the pieces of paper.

She knew it! She knew that they were going to be having a test. No teacher would be kind enough to say that they were not having a test on a four hundred and sixty-four paged book, that's why she made herself a little study guide and worked on it last night.

"It's a test!" Cory exclaimed as he looked at the paper in front of him.

"No, don't think of it as a test," Mr. Turner tried to cover, "Think of it as a survey."

"Survey says test." Melanie pointed out as she watched the class start to shift in their seats, unhappy with the lie they had been told.

"You gave us your word," Cory accused as he and Shawn stood up.

"I even read the book last night." Shawn said and Melanie gasped in amazement with the rest of the class, her wide eyes staring at Shawn in disbelief, "Yeah, my head still hurts."

"So why don't we just talk about the book, like you said?" Cory asked as Mr. Turner sighed.

"Because I can't change the system overnight, Matthews," He explained as he dropped his arms to his side, "Come on, work with me here."

"I'm not taking this test!" Cory stated as he marched up and handed Mr. Turner his test.

"You can do that?" Shawn asked and Cory looked back in fear at Mr. Turner,

"I don't know."

Melanie watched as Shawn reached towards her and snatched her paper from her desk.

"Hey!" She exclaimed as Shawn walked up to Mr. Turner and handed him the tests."

"We're not either." Shawn stated.

Melanie watched as the rest of the class handed their tests in, refusing to take it. She didn't think that taking this test would be so bad; they did review the book every day and, knowing Mr. Turner, the test should be pretty easy.

Sweeping her bangs to the side, Melanie watched Mr. Feeny enter the room and talk to Mr. Turner before turning to them, tests in hand.

"I realize that all you seventh-graders are delicate, adolescent flowers just beginning your high school blooming," Mr. Feeny began, "And so I say this with the utmost sensitivity: take this or die." Melanie's eyes widened and she watched Feeny stare each of them down.

"You just have to show them who's boss." Mr. Feeny said as he walked past Mr. Turner.

Cory stood up from his seat and marched to the front of the room, "Is this fair?"

"No!" The class responded.

"Have we been tricked?"

"Yes!"

"Take the test or die?"

Melanie opened her mouth, only to feel a slightly sweaty, warm hand covering it.

"No!"

Melanie looked up to see that Shawn had been covering her mouth, knowing that she was going to say that they should just take the test.

"Then we die together! Organized, like the people in the book should've done. The first student union." Cory said triumphantly.

"Yeah!" Shawn agreed as he jumped up and raced to the front of the room, dragging Melanie behind him.

"Look for the union label if you are buying that coat, dress or blouse." Melanie followed Cory and Shawn out as they sang and cracked her knuckles, this was going to be a long week.

~8~

Melanie sat at a cafeteria seat far from Cory and his loyal subjects. She didn't want to have any part in this. She watched as Mr. Feeny challenged Cory by taking away the seventh-grade dance and challenged Shawn by taking away the cheerleaders. She scoffed, she hated how Shawn was already such a player even though they had barely started their high school career.

Melanie watched everything that was going on around her and felt bored. There were more important things to be protesting about… she honestly just wanted to take the test.

She stood up to walk back with the class to take the test when she felt a hand grab her arm and pull her.

"Where do you think you're going?" Cory sang as he glared slightly at Melanie.

"To take the test," She replied, not singing.

"Oh, no, no, no."

"Oh, yes, yes, yes."

"There's no one with us, we're all alone now." Shawn sang as he continued to march with Cory, "I'm gonna bail with Mel."

"You'd better not." Cory threatened as he grabbed Shawn's arm.

"Yes, I am."

"Oh, no, no, no."

"Yes, yes, yes, yes."

"No, no, no.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes." Melanie stumbled as Cory yanked her and Shawn around the corner.

~8~

"How come there's nothing on the news about our strike out? They're only covering that dumb missing bomb story." Cory whined as he looked at the TV and Melanie leaned forward to grab some popcorn. She was at Cory's house and was sitting in between him and Shawn.

"Young men, we just got off the phone with your principle." Amy said as she entered the living room with Alan.

"What? What about Mel?" Cory asked, unsure of why they weren't scolding Melanie.

"Because your principle told us that you dragged poor Melanie into this mess." Amy explained before looking over at Mel, "Why don't you head home."

Melanie nodded and grabbed her stuff. Today was a long day.

* * *

"Daddy, Mel, what are you doing here?" Riley whined as she crawled back into her window, Maya following her, "Being smarter than me. How come you're always smarter than me?"

"Here's what I'm thinking." Cory said as he crawled through the window and into Riley's room, "It's not your world yet. It's still my world."

"Actually, it's still our world," Melanie corrected as she crawled through the window and stood next to Cory.

~8~

"I have nobody at home who helps me with my homework."

"You have Mel, Maya. You just don't want her to see you as someone weak."

~8~

"Mom."

"Yes, Maya?"

"Can you help me with my homework?"

"Or course."

* * *

 **I'm back!**

 **One of Melanie's flaws are showing through in this chapter. She doesn't care for little, important things and that's something that's really going to effect her in the future.**

 **Speaking of the future, how'd you like the sneak peaks I've given you. They're all from the same episode and let me know what you think.**

 **Narelclollie: I'm really glad you're enjoying this!**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**

 **PS: I won't be able to update as often as usual until August 9th but I'll try my best to update.**


	29. The Uninvited

"Thus, the transcontinental railroad spelled the end of the Pony Express." Melanie carefully eyed Mr. Feeny while Shawn passed her a note, "Mail service faster, more reliable. Letters no longer had to be passed hand to hand," Mr. Feeny snatched the note out of Melanie hand and made his way to the front of the room, grabbing other notes, "These just in. Ms. Wilder wants to know what Ms. Harrington thinks she should wear to her party. Ms. Harrington wants to know what makes Ms. Wilder think she's even coming."

Melanie silently 'oohed' as she watched the Wilder girl glare at Melissa.

"I'm not invited," The Wilder girl hissed and Melissa rolled her eyes.

"We'll just see, ok?" She flipped her hair over her shoulder and Melanie turned her attention back to Mr. Feeny.

"Mr. Hunter wants to know if Miss. Strong is going to the party," Melanie gave Shawn a shrug, she hadn't been invited to the party yet so she wasn't sure if she was going to go, "And Mr. Matthews wants to know 'Is this going to be a make-up party?"

"Well, sure, Cory." Melissa battered her eyelashes, "You can borrow my lip gloss."

"Out!" Cory quickly fixed as he fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat, "Not up. A make _out_ party."

Melanie watched as Mr. Feeny examined the paper closer before nodding in agreement, "Ah, so it is. Mr. Matthews wants to know if this is going to be a make out party."

"Not for him," Shawn smirked and Cory gave a groan, burying his head into his arms.

~8~

"I blew it, Shawn," Cory panicked as he walked down the hallway with Melanie on his left and Shawn on his right, "There's no way Melissa's gonna invite me to her party now."

Shawn shrugged and sat down on a bench, "So Feeny cut you off at the knees. People will forget. You'll get invited to the next party."

"You think?" Cory asked hopefully.

"This is high school, Cory." Melanie pointed out as she took a seat next to Shawn and looked up at Cory, "People are too busy to remember one tiny, little mistake."

"Don't think I forgot about you, baboon." Melanie rolled her eyes as she saw Harley grab Cory by the arm. _Of course_ , she thought with a sigh, _Someone's always gotta prove me wrong._ "Don't think I forgot about last Tuesday—you sat in my chair in the cafeteria."

Cory sighed, "I'm sorry, Harley. I didn't know it was your chair."

"Everybody knows that's Harley's chair." Joey said as he stood behind Frankie, "Everybody knows it's always been Harley's chair and it's always gonna be Harley's chair every year that he's a senior. Ain't that right, Frankie?"

"What are you sayin? I like my sister?" Melanie gave Frankie a confused look at the sudden turn of events and looked at Joey.

"No, no! I'm not sayin that. I'm just sayin that you have a very close family."

Melanie watched as Frankie walked towards the telephone and scratched her nose.

"Hey, where ya goin?" Joey asked, confused.

"I wanna call home," Frankie sighed and Joey rushed over to him.

"Is he gonna be ok?" Shawn asked as he watched Frankie and Harley nodded.

"He's got a few issues. I, one the other hand, have one issue and that's you, baboon." Harley grabbed Cory's face and squeezed his cheeks, "I don't like you. I look at your face and wanna hit it. Is that so wrong?"

Melanie rolled her eyes and walked over to her locker, emptying her useless books and putting in her needed books.

"Mel, don't you agree that this is the most important time of our life." Cory asked as he walked over to her, Shawn following him, "I mean, if I don't get invited I might as well grow a hump and find a tower and ring the bell."

Melanie slammed her locker shut—not in an angry way—and looked at Cory, "Listen, in the end you meet a beautiful girl and get married or something. So why are you complaining?"

"She has a point, Cor. Besides, there's always room on our couch for you." Shawn added as he shifted his bag onto his shoulder.

"I thought your Uncle Franke was on the couch."

"No, not anymore. He won the lottery and stopped talking to us."

"Really? What did he win?" Cory asked.

"Six bucks." Shawn looked up and froze, "Don't look now, but the Pony Express just pulled into town."

"Oh, no!" Cory panicked, quickly turning around, "She's handing out the invitations."

Melanie watched as Melissa gave some kids letters and ignored other kids. It was just a party, there will be millions more thrown so who cares if you got invited to one and not the other. Raising her eyebrows, she watched as Melissa handed Cory and envelope and passed right by her and Shawn.

"Shawn, Mel, there's been a miracle!" Cory exclaimed as he raced over to them.

"Yeah, whatever," Shawn shrugged, pulling his bag tighter over his shoulder, "We're gonna be late for class."

"Class?! We don't need no stinkin class. Our future is set. We are high school gods." Cory started dramatically into the distance as he placed his arms around Shawn and Melanie's shoulders, "Come, let us retire to the gym and rejoice in our invitations."

"It's gonna be kinda hard, since I didn't get one." Shawn admitted and Cory's face dropped.

"What?" He asked, shocked.

"I didn't get an invite." Shawn shrugged, "No biggie."

"Hey, I didn't either. High five," Melanie smiled held her hand up, watching as Shawn meekly smiled back and gave her a weak high five.

"There's gotta be a mistake." Cory furrowed his brows as he looked between his two best friends, "Shawn, you're the coolest guy in school. Mel, you're, like, the nicest girl in school. You've got to be invited."

"Yeah, well, looks like I'm not." Shawn sighed.

"I'm gonna go find out what happened." Cory announced and Melanie gave a smile.

"Let it go, ok?" Shawn stated, "Just let it go."

"You want me to ask her?" Cory asked and Shawn meekly nodded.

"Yeah, would you?"

Melanie watched as Cory pranced over to Melissa and talked to her about it, surprised when Melissa walked over to them and held out and invitation.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I must have forgotten to give this to you." Melanie cautiously took the letter from Melissa hand.

"My name's Melanie. Not Melania." Melanie stated and Melissa gave her a fake smile.

"Really? I was pretty sure it was Melania."

Melanie raised her eyebrows and gave a fake smile back, "I'm pretty sure I know my own name."

"Yeah, well, I hope to see you at the party, _Melania_." Melissa flipped her hair over her shoulder and quickly walked away.

Melanie turned to Shawn, "I guess you really weren't invited to her parry."

"But I'm cooler than Cory."

"Hey!"

"You know it's true."

"So, are you gonna go to the party?" Cory asked and Shawn sat down on the bench.

"Nah, I'm probably going to grab a burger from Chubbie's."

"What about you, Mel?" Cory asked.

"Can't, won't, got better things to do."

"Like what?" Shawn scoffed.

"Going to Chubbie's and grabbing a burger with my best friend."

~8~

"Okay, Shawn, here's the plan," Cory whispered as he watched Melanie walk down the hallway, towards her class, "You're not gonna go to Chubbie's."

"And why am I not going to go to Chubbie's?"

"Because I'm cool, which means I run with a very influential crowd. Which means all I do is pick up this telephone, pull a few strings, and get you invited to the party."

Shawn raised his eyebrows, "Who are you gonna call?"

"Well, normally I'd call you." Cory admitted as he looked at Shawn.

"Cor, it's fine. You go have fun at the party, and I'll go have a burger with Mel." Shawn said, brushing his hair back.

"But it will be no fun without you…"

~8~

"Cor, you okay?" Melanie asked as she walked over to where he and Shawn were standing. True to her word, Melanie didn't go to the party and went to Chubbie's instead. It was weird though. One moment, she was talking to Shawn about how funny Stephanie had been when she tried to leave, and the next, she was squished next to Shawn (who had proudly thrown his arm over her shoulder) and a mob of people were suddenly at their table.

"No! I'm a geek!" Cory explained as he looked between her and Shawn, "You should go back to you friends."

"What are you talking about?" Melanie asked, confused, "They're not my friends; you guys are."

"Yeah, Cor. What are you talking about?" Shawn questioned, leading Cory over to a booth.

"I'm the worst kind of geek. I'm a geek who didn't know he was a geek." Cory admitted.

"Cory, does this have to do with the party?" Melanie asked, sliding onto the seat next to Shawn so that she was facing Cory.

"Yeah. It was a geek party. Melissa's parents took all the cool kids off the list; except you, Mel. She said her parents heard that you were a charming, young girl who didn't let popularity control her."

Shawn sighed before he gave a small smile, "Cory?"

"Yeah?"

"Do I hang out with geeks?"

"No. That's why I'm leaving."

Shawn grasped at Cory before he could leave, halting him in his place.

"Come on." Shawn said, pulling Cory down to his seat, "You're my best friend. You gotta loosen up."

"You don't think I'm a geek?" Cory asked meekly.

"Of course not."

"You think I'm cool?"

"Of course not."

Cory sighed, "Then what am I?"

"You're Cory. He's Shawn. I'm Melanie." Melanie stated and Cory rolled his eyes at her response.

"Just like it's always been." Shawn added, "What else do you need to know?"

"I need to know how to be cool like you guys."

"I'm not cool." Shawn stated just as Melanie asked,

"When did we become cool?"

"Mel, Shawn, look around you. I mean, this is the cool party. You guys are the center of the cool party."

"This is the cool party?" Shawn asked as Melanie looked around.

"Yes."

"Let's bail." Melanie shrugged, getting up and grabbing her jacket.

"What?" Cory gaped.

"It's too busy here. Let's go somewhere else." Melanie explained as Cory and Shawn got up.

"Oh, I got it. You're trying to teach me how to be cool."

"Huh?" Melanie cocked her head to the side as she stared at Cory.

"You're trying to show me that it doesn't matter where you go because if you're truly cool, where you go is the cool place to be. Right?"

Melanie and Shawn looked at each other.

"Cory?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"A very cool thing to say." Cory stated as he followed the two out.

~8~

"See, isn't this much better than Chubbie's?" Melanie asked as the three of them sat in her basement.

"I never knew your family owned so much ice cream." Cory groaned as he tried to spoon another scoop into his mouth.

"I never knew your sister was so cute." Shawn said as Stephanie sat in his lap, playing with one of her dolls.

Melanie gave a laugh and ruffled Stephanie's hair.

* * *

 **It has finally arrived. Sorry it took so long.**

 **Should Mel and Shawn be Maya's parents?**

 **Some say yes, some say no.**

 **So let me know what you think and I'll tally up the votes.**

 **Thank you for all the reviews!**

 **Please don't be afraid to review or PM me. It can be about anything: the plot, Melanie's character, a question about the future.**

 **Also, let me know if I accidentally missed one of your reviews and didn't respond to it.**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	30. Who's Afraid Of The Cory Wolf

Melanie pushed open Cory's bedroom door and waltzed in with Shawn following her. She was wearing a black and white, floral dress, a lace choker, and she had crimped her hair and styled her bangs. Shawn, on the other hand, was wearing a red shirt, a blue jacket, and a curly wig.

"Hey, Cory," Melanie greeted, bounding over to where he sat at the desk, "You ready for the Halloween party?"

"Please, I have no time for such things." Cory scoffed as he placed his quill down and looked at her.

"Come on, guess who I'm going as." Melanie rocked on her heels as she waited for Cory to answer, "Okay, okay. I'll give you a hint." She yanked Shawn to her side, "Hello, Cory."

"Hey, Topanga." Shawn responded, throwing his arm around Melanie's shoulders.

"I'm sure I have no idea." Cory sassed as he got up and paced over to the window, staring out it dramatically.

"Oh, come on, Cor. We even said the names. I'm Topanga and Shawn's you. Pretty lifelike, huh? What are you going as?"

"I'm not going."

"What? Why?" Melanie asked, shocked at the sudden announcement. It was Halloween! Her second most favorite holiday (with Christmas coming in first and Thanksgiving coming in third).

"Yeah, you have to go." Shawn added, taking off the wig.

"No, I have to stay here, alone, locked in my room where no one can see me." Cory responded eerily and Melanie and Shawn shared a look.

"What about Topanga?" Shawn asked, "She's meeting us here, remember?"

"No, I told her it wasn't safe. I can't be responsible for my actions." Cory turned sharply and faced them, "Only evil will come from tonight."

"Gonna make you're move, huh?" Shawn raised his eyebrow.

"If I do, it'll be on all fours. Listen, I gotta tell somebody. Shawn, Mel, I'm one of the undead creatures of the night."

Melanie raised her eyebrow while Shawn tilted his head.

"Cory, you can't fool your best friends." Shawn stated, "Something's bothering you, isn't it?"

Cory pushed Mel and Shawn down onto his bed and stared them in the eye, "Listen, what I'm about to tell you is so bizarre, no one in their right mind would believe it."

"Then I'm your guy." Shawn said as he slung his arm around Mel.

Cory nodded before speaking eerily, "So it all started last night…."

~8~

"Cory, there is no way you were bitten by a wolf." Melanie deadpanned as Shawn laughed next to her.

"Mel, what else could it have been? Look at the bite." Melanie looked at Cory's unharmed arm.

"I don't see anything."

"Of course you don't. Everybody knows werewolf bites heal overnight."

Shawn stopped laughing and suddenly stood up, scaring Melanie at the sudden movement, "Wow, then you're covered in them. So you're really turning into a werewolf?"

Melanie leaned in as Cory began to speak, "I didn't think so until I woke up this morning…."

~8~

"And it's more than just hair. I've got some new urges. Like last night, I'm watching the movie _Untouchables_. You know the scene where Capone is about to smash heads with a baseball bat?"

"Awesome scene." Shawn nodded.

"Except I'm not into it. The whole time, I'm thinking 'I wonder how cold the water is on Baywatch'."

"Jeez, whatever you got, you got it bad." Shawn stared warily at Cory.

"Yeah," Cory agreed, "I didn't know how bad until lunchtime, when I had this strange craving for a snack…."

~8~

"Everything Madame Ouspanskaya predicated has come true. And now, only one part of the prophecy remains unfulfilled. I gotta kill Topanga."

"What a drag. Girl finally likes you, and you're gonna off her." Shawn paused and looked at Cory, "You know, this could really hurt you socially."

"What can I do? My paws are tied." Cory asked.

"But doesn't that mean you could also kill me?" Melanie panicked, "Topanga's not the only girl who cares about you."

"What?" Shawn and Cory exclaimed.

"You like him?"

"I could kill you!"

"Not like that, Shawn." Melanie corrected and she noted how Shawn's body physically relaxed.

"Does anyone else know?" Shawn asked and Cory shook his head.

"No, you two are the only ones. The _only_ ones."

Melanie turned her head towards the door, hearing it open, and watched as Eric walked in with a dog bow filled with water and a dog bowl filled with food.

"Hey, Cory, here's your dinner." Eric placed the dishes down before howling, in which Cory joined him.

"He's family," Cory answered, seeing Melanie's and Shawn's confused faces once Eric left the room.

"Listen," Shawn casually began as Cory began eating out of the dog bowls, "Since you're going through this change, can I have your autographed Lenny Dykstra ball?"

"Not my ball?" Cory shot up.

"Cory, you don't need it. You're a wolf."

"I can still fetch."

"Listen, on the off chance that you are turning into this werewolf, why don't we head to the drugstore?" Shawn offered, "They're got that aisle, _Beauty Aids_. If they got stuff that can take the stache of my mother," Melanie laughed at this, "they've gotta have something for you."

"Don't you think I've already though of that? Listen, after school, I went back to Madame Ouspanskaya's…"

~8~

"Panga, you're here!" Melanie cheered as she opened up the front door of the Matthew's house, "Cory and Shawn are upstairs."

"I like your dress, Melanie." Topanga complimented as the two made their way upstairs.

"Thank you! You also look very nice."

"This is Cory's room." Melanie said as she gave the door a little push, revealing Shawn and Cory in the center of the room.

"-Poor, innocent girl from a terrible- Hi Topanga." Melanie watched as Cory did a double take before screaming.

"I'll just leave you too. Have a good time." Shawn grabbed Melanie's hand, "Come on, Mel, let's go."

Melanie rolled her eyes as Shawn led her out howling.

* * *

 **Sadly, school is coming up and I won't be able to update as frequently. I am hoping to update at least once a week, but there will be times where it won't be possible.**

 **Thank you for all the reviews!**

 **Please don't be afraid to review or PM and I will try my best to respond to you. Please let me know if I didn't responded to you.**

 **What I am worried about, with Melanie and Shawn being Maya's parents, is that Maya has blonde while Shawn and Melanie have brown. So if you have any ideas for that please let me know.**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	31. Wake Up, Little Cory

Melanie felt her eyes droop as she watched Mr. Turner write on the board aggressively. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she gave a light laugh, seeing that Shawn was fast asleep at his desk. Quickly rubbing her eyes, Melanie tried to put her focus back on Mr. Turner and not on Shawn. Sadly, that wasn't easy to do. Melanie watched with amused eyes as Shawn slowly slipped off his chair and landed on the floor with a thud. Looking up, she noticed that Mr. Turner's gaze was on Shawn and she gave him a light kick to the side.

"You know; these chairs really aren't the best for sleeping." Shawn nervously laughed and he quickly got up and back into his seat. Mr. Turner did not look amused.

"Oh, come on!" Mr. Turner said exasperated, "You got this innocent young girl and somebody says that she slept with this other guy, right? And her reputation is shot and we think she's killed herself." Mr. Turner stopped in front of Melanie's desk, "Now where are you going to find this kind of stuff?"

Melanie raised her eyebrow, "Melrose Place."

"NYPD Blue." Shawn stated lazily, running his fingers through his hair.

"Barney." Melanie gave Cory a concerned look and Cory gave a nervous laugh, realizing his mistake, "My sister says he's gotten edgier."

"Mr. Turner," Topanga began with an expecting look on her face, "We just can't relate to these characters at all."

"Why not?" Mr. Turner asked, slightly confused on why his students were having such a hard time connecting to the characters in the book.

"Because nobody acts like this." Cory stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Just because some guy says something about some girl, the girl wants to kill herself over it? They say that stuff about Heather Locklear every week and she doesn't want to kill herself," Melanie couldn't help but nod her head in agreement. Cory did have a point, "She's on the cover of _TV Guide_."

"You're right, Matthews." Melanie's mouth dropped as soon as she heard those words leave Mr. Turner's mouth. Nobody had ever said Cory was right before.

"I'm right?" Cory asked, obviously amazed that someone actually agreed with what he had said.

"No, you're exactly right."

Cory's mouth dropped even further, "So am I done with my education? Can I go?"

"In Shakespeare's day, the play's the thing. In our day, I guess the thing is TV." Mr. Turner mumbled as he got up and walked around, "So maybe we should put ourselves on TV and ask ourselves what we think about love, sex, and slander."

"So, like an interview?" Melanie asked, sitting up straighter in her seat. She had always thought Journalism was cool…

"Kind of like a documentary?" Shawn added, noticing that Melanie suddenly looked more attentive to the assignment.

"Exactly!" Mr. Turner praised.

"Hey, my Uncle Ralph was in a documentary," Shawn said with a smile, "They put a blue dot over his face and changed his voice."

Melanie's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to tell Shawn that his Uncle wasn't in a documentary when she paused. She looked at his smiling face before closing her mouth. He looked really happy about the fact that his Uncle was in a 'documentary', and she didn't want to ruin his happiness.

"All right, the school's got video equipment. Let's wear it out, okay?" Melanie tilted her head and watched as Mr. Turner went up to the front of the room. "We'll split into teams of two. Interview your friends, your families, and each other. Let's just see who's got the more mature attitudes: Shakespeare or us."

"Us." Cory said with a proud smile.

"Okay, my mature, young friends, pick partners." Melanie quickly locked eyes with Topanga, not noticing how Shawn's eyes quickly flickered over to her before looking back at Cory.

"Uh," Mr. Turner gave an evil smile, "Boy-girl partners.:

Melanie immediately locked her eyes with Shawn who, to her surprise, was already looking at her.

~8~

Melanie pushed her hair back as she stood next to Shawn, who was being interviewed by Topanga. Melanie held her own camera under her arm and she gave it a quick check over, making sure that it hadn't gotten any damage done to it throughout the day.

"How do you know if you're in love?" Topanga asked Shawn, who stared adoringly into the camera.

"Well," Shawn began and he pushed his hair out of his face, "Love is the most amazing, rare, and precious thing in the whole world."

"Have you ever fallen in love?"

Shawn's eyes quickly flickered to where Melanie stood checking her camera, before looking back up, "At least five times a day."

~8~

"Okay, Shawn," Melanie said as she adjusted her camera, "Tell me what you think about love?"

"Well," Shawn said as he looked dramatically at the camera, "I think love is amazing, wonderful, and rare."

"Why do you think it's rare."

"Because it is."

"Okay."

"How about you, Mel?" Shawn asked as he reached over and took the camera from her, before focusing it on her, "What do you think about love?"

Melanie nervously tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear, not used to being on camera and quite sure if she enjoyed it or not.

"I think love is when you find someone that you care enough for to let them bother you for the rest of your life."

"And have you found anyone yet?" Shawn slyly asked, parting of him hoping for her to say no and the other part hoping for her to say yes.

Melanie gave Shawn a 'really' look, "Shawn, I'm only twelve. I'm not yet experienced enough to know what love really is."

~8~

"Hi, Mrs. Strong," Shawn greeted as Melanie's mom from behind the camera, "What do you think about love?"

"I think that it is a one-time thing." Mrs. Strong raised a critical eyebrow, "You seem a bit too young to be interested in love, Mr. Hunter."

Shawn nervously laughed and scratched the back of his neck, "It's for a school project."

Mrs. Strong raised her eyebrow again before stalking off.

~8~

"Okay, Steph," Melanie said as she filmed her wriggling little sister, "Do you think love is a yes-yes or no-no."

Stephanie gave a little squeal before bouncing and chanting 'yes-yes' over and over again.

Melanie gave a laugh before turning off the camera and pulling Stephanie into a hug.

~8~

"Melanie, this is terrible!" Topanga fumed as she paced around her room, "Everyone thinks that Cory and I had sex."

"What?!"

"Exactly, he's become Mr. Popular overnight over something that has never happened."

"I don't think Cory would go that low and actually agree to something that never happened for popularity." Melanie pointed out as she flipped though her homework. Quickly rethinking her word choice, Melanie quickly changed her words, "Never mind… but he's still a good person."

"I'm not saying he's not a good person, I'm saying that I don't appreciate the false claims that he is encouraging." Topanga explained, plopping herself down on the bed next to Melanie.

"Then go talk to him about it."

~8~

Melanie smiled as she watched the apology tape Cory made for Topanga. Yes, she knew that Cory could be stupid and make the wrong decision, but she also knew that Cory would do anything to keep his friends happy and Melanie couldn't have been happier to have a friend like him.

* * *

"Look, Maya." A hand pointed at the screen which held an image of a teenage boy, "Look, it's daddy."

The young baby, who couldn't have been more than six-months old, gargled at the screen and wildly waved her arms.

"Yes! That's your daddy and even though he's not here right now, he loves you very much."

Two soft hands picked the baby up and cradled her close to their chest.

"Don't ever think your daddy doesn't love you, Maya. Because he loves you more than all the stars in the sky."

And even though he wasn't there right now, Melanie _knew_ that he loved them…

* * *

 **Sorry this is so late. I thought I had already updated.**

 **Do you like the sneak peak I gave you?**

 **Is Maya adopted? Is she Melanie and Shawn's biological daughter?**

 **Tell me what you think.**

 **This chapter is, in my opinion, the cutest yet. Which is your favorite chapter?**

 **Also, I please check out my Merlin story :)**

 **Please review!**

 **Don't be afraid to send a review or PM me.**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	32. Sneak Peeks

"Shawn, what's wrong."

"You know that moment when you realize that you've been looking for the wrong thing the whole time?"

"Yeah."

"Mel, I'm so sorry."

~8~

" _Aw, Mel, she's so cute!"_

 _Melanie gave a laugh as she shifted the tiny infant in her arms._

~8~

"Ouch! Shawn, you pulled my hair!"

"Sorry! I didn't mean to."

~8~

Melanie stared at Topanga's uneven hair.

"You, uh, okay there, Topanga?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You just look at bit different."

~8~

" _Shawn… what are you doing here?"_

" _Mel… I didn't know you had a daughter."_

~8~

"Stephanie, you can't just take something that you like."

"But I wanted it and I liked it."

"I understand but the point is, it doesn't belong to you."

~8~

Amy watched as Melanie stormed through the front door.

"Hi, Mrs. Matthews."

A second after entering the kitchen, Amy furrowed her brows as Melanie walked back out dragging Shawn by the ear.

"Bye, Mrs. Matthews."

Amy looked over at her son who was staring at the two in shock.

"Cory," Amy began and she placed down her book, "What exactly did Shawn do?"

"I'm not sure…"

~8~

 _Topanga watched as Melanie stormed through the front door of the bakery dragging Cory in by the ear. Behind her, Maya was casually strolling in with a smug look on her face._

" _Maya," Topanga asked as she tore her gaze off her best friend and husband, "What did Cory do?"_

" _You'll see." Maya smirked._

* * *

 **Yes! Sneak peeks!**

 **The italics are for GMW seasons.**

 **Darth Becky 726:** **I don't know where Shawn is... and is Shawn even Maya's father? I love how you connected all these unanswered questions with _Gravity Falls_. I didn't mean to have so many mysteries; it just sort of happened, but I love the suspense.**

 **Do you guys think that Shawn's the father? Do you even think that Maya's actually Melanie's biological daughter?**

 **Let me know what you think and your ideas.**

 **Please don't be afraid to review or PM me.**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	33. Band on the Run

"Hi, my name is Cory and the seventh grade dance is Friday night and I just wondering if you maybe wanted to-"

"I'm sorry, my grandmother's sick."

Melanie raised her eyebrow as Cory walked back over to them with his hands covering his face. Honestly, it was getting sort of sad at how many times a girl was rejecting him. Pulling her hair over her shoulder Melanie tilted her head as Shawn asked Cory how it went.

"Apparently it's not a good time to be a grandmother." Cory stated before turning to face the different girls he had asked, "Look," Melanie followed his finger towards a girl with long, blonde hair, "Her grandmother's coughing flem," He pointed to another, "Her's is hacking blood. And her, her-"

"Woah," Shawn cut him off, "I happen to know she has no grandmother."

"Yes," Cory said slowly, "And somehow she blames me for her death."

"At least you can't sink any lower." Shawn stated and Cory gave a sigh before jumping into his seat.

"Besides, Cory," Melanie ran her fingers through her hair, "I can always be your date to the school dance. I wasn't planning on going, but I don't want you to go alone."

"Woah, Mel. You're not going? I thought we agreed that we were going to go together." Shawn furrowed his brows in confusion. He was almost positive that they had agreed to go to the dance together. Sure, he hadn't asked her… but that didn't really matter.

"Um, no." Melanie said as she raised her eyebrow, "You never asked me. Why would I be going with you if you never asked me." She turned her attention back to Cory, "The offer's still up. Besides, if you don't want to go with me, I'm sure Topanga will be happy if you ask her." Melanie gave Cory a smirk, which he ignored.

"Thanks, Mel." Cory said looking at the table, sullenly.

"Hey, you." A deep voice called and Melanie's head immediately snapped towards the voice. She nearly swooned as she saw a tall, teenager with shoulder length brown hair walk towards their table, "Are you busy?"

"No," Melanie sighed as she rested her chin on her hand and stared dreamily at the tall boy.

She didn't catch Shawn's glance of distaste before he slumped down in his seat, giving the older boy a slight glare.

"You're not going to ask me to the dance, are you?" Cory asked, looking up at the teen.

"And what if I did?" The teen asked as he gently leaned on his guitar case, giving Cory an amused look.

"I'd say pick me up at eight but no slow dances."

The older boy rolled his eyes before shoving his guitar case into Cory's hands, "Watch these for a second, all right."

"I can do that." Cory said as he patted the guitar case and another teen handed Shawn his guitar case, lying it across the table.

"I'm not going to this dance with anybody." Cory stated as he stared at Shawn.

"Ouch, Cory." Melanie said with a frown, "You didn't have to be so harsh. A simple 'no' would have sufficed." Melanie scratched her nose, "Besides, Topanga's still an option. No one's asked her yet."

Cory nodded, "I could, I could. But that would show no personal growth if I simply asked the girl I've always asked since we were five."

Melanie and Shawn shared a look as Shawn rested his head on his arms.

"So when are you going to ask her?"

"I figured tomorrow. Unless by some magic, girls finally start to notice me."

Cracking her back, Melanie grabbed her notebook and slide off her chair, "Well, if you don't mind me, it's time that I have to leave and go get Stephanie from daycare."

Giving them a smile, Melanie turned and walked towards the door, oblivious to Shawn's eyes on her.

"She won't go to the dance with me."

"Huh?"

Shawn turned to face Cory, a look of panic on his face, "We go to the school dances every year together, and this year she isn't going with me."

"Well, Shawn, maybe you should ask instead of just assuming." Cory pointed out and Shawn nodded his head slowly in agreement.

"Yeah, maybe."

~8~

"No way!" Melanie gasped as she stared at Topanga in awe, "Jeremey asked you?"

Topanga nodded as she brushed her hair.

"Well, what did you say?"

Placing her brush down, Topanga gave a sigh, "I told him I wasn't sure. I mean, I've been going to the dance with Cory every year since we were five. I would feel rude if I just accepted Jeremey's invitation without letting him know."

Melanie nodded her head in agreement as she took a bite of her cookie, "Shawn hasn't asked me yet."

"Really?" Topanga asked, shocked. It was odd that Shawn hadn't asked her yet. Normally the first thing he would do was present her with a small box of homemade cookies and ask her to the dance.

"Yeah. I mean, it's not like I'm going to say no."

Melanie relaxed back on Topanga's bed and stared up her ceiling. She understood that she wasn't dating Shawn, but it was nice to be asked to a dance. All the other girls were. Sighing, Melanie shook her head before sitting back up and grabbing a hair tie.

"A French braid or a Dutch braid?"

"French, please."

~8~

"I didn't know that Cory and Shawn played guitar." Topanga said as she walked through the hallways with Melanie. The two had come into school and had nearly been trampled by a group of girls who were looking for Cory and Shawn.

"I didn't know either." Melanie said as she turned left, "I was almost positive they didn't know how to play any instrument, maybe the drums but what they do doesn't count as playing."

"Oh, look. There they are." Topanga said and the two of them quickly walked down the steps towards the two boys. Topanga approaching Cory and Melanie approaching Shawn.

"I didn't know you guys played." Melanie stated as she looked at Shawn in awe. Unknown to Cory and Shawn, Melanie was actually a huge music fan and loved to play the piano. No, she couldn't sing. Her voice sounded horrible, like a dying cat, but that didn't stop her. Stephanie appreciated her singing.

"Yeah." Shawn said as pride swelled in his chest.

"That's so cool." Topanga agreed as she looked at Cory, "When are you guys gonna play?"

"They said soon, but they don't have a drummer." A girl with long, dark hair answered and Topanga and Melanie stared at her in confusion.

"Who are you?" Melanie and Topanga asked, confused at why two girls were following Cory and Shawn.

The girl scoffed, "We're with the band."

As Topanga excused herself to talk to Cory, Melanie turned to Shawn and looked at him patiently.

"What?"

"Do you have anything to ask me?" Melanie blinked at him sweetly.

"N-no."

Melanie's eyebrows raised and her jaw set.

"Fine." Turning on her heel, she raced off to catch up with Topanga, silently cursing at Shawn in her head.

~8~

"So, do you think this is okay?" Melanie asked as she spun around in a knee-length dark purple skirt and a loose, white blouse that was tucked in. Her hair was pulled back into a French braid that landed in the middle of her back.

Topanga gasped as she looked at Melanie, "Oh, you look absolutely wonderful."

Melanie blushed before complimenting Topanga's outfit of a black skirt and jean jacket.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's do this."

~8~

Melanie cheered along as Cory and Shawn stepped out on stage.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!" Cory shouted, enjoying the shouts and cheers of the audience, "Are you ready to rock?"

"Yeah!" Melanie yelled, but her voice was lost in the crowd.

"Are you ready to roll?"

"Yeah!"

"Are you ready to rock and roll?"

"Yeah!"

"Goodnight, everybody!" Shawn yelled and Melanie watched in confusion as he tried to run off stage, but Cory grabbed the back of shirt, pulling him back.

Melanie gave a groan as it suddenly all hit her. They didn't actually know how to play the guitar; they just wanted to use the power of music to get the girls. Melanie scoffed, shame on them. Melanie crossed her arms and watched in amusement as Shawn and Cory awkwardly began to play.

As the crowd realized the flaws in Cory and Shawn's plan, boo's erupted form the crowd. Shawn's eyes desperately searched the crowd for help, and when they landed on Melanie, he sent her a pleading look. She only shrugged. It's not like she could help. She only knew how to play the piano. Cory tried to settle crowd by randomly strumming the guitar and singing a child's song (one which she knew since she often sang it to Morgan and Stephanie) which didn't help him at all and the crowd slowly dispersed.

~8~

"Hey, Shawn." Melanie greeted softly as she got up on stage and walked towards him.

"Hi." Shawn replied shortly, embarrassed and humiliated by their failed plan.

"I enjoyed your performance." Melanie said as she cautiously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Look, I know we failed and I know what we did was stupid." Shawn turned and faced her, "I understand. We shouldn't have lied."

"I'm not trying to reprimand you. I'm being completely honest. I enjoyed watching you. Sure, you had no idea about what you were doing, but you stuck to it."

Shawn stared at her in shock. He thought that she was going to laugh at him and tell him that they should've just asked for her help, he should've just asked her to the dance.

Melanie gave him a small smile, "Just ask me to the dance next time."

Leaning in, Melanie pressed a gentle kiss on Shawn's cheek before walking off.

"Sweet mama." Shawn sighed dreamily.

* * *

 **GUESS WHO'S BACK**

 **BACK AGAIN**

 **ANA'S BACK**

 **TELL YOUR FRIENDS**

 **Darth Becky 726: Yass! I love Gravity Falls! And that's true, I could change Melanie's hair style and eye color.**

 **I'm really glad that you guys are enjoying this story!**

 **Please leave a review of what you think of if you have any suggestions (More reviews mean more updates).**

 **Please don't be afraid to leave a review or PM me. All your ideas and thoughts mean a lot to me.**

 ***IMPORTANT***

 **Please take this survey. My friend made it for me. It will help me poll the results of who wants Shawn to be the father.** **quiz/8783222/Should-Shawn-be-Mayas-Father**

 **See you Soon,** **Ana**


	34. Fear Strikes Out

"Cory, Shawn," Melanie greeted happily as she walked over to her two friends, glad to finally be able to see them.

She had planned on going to school today, but Stephanie got sick and her parents couldn't watch her; nor could the babysitter they hired for her. So, Melanie spent the whole day trying to wrestle her baby sister into taking her medicine, taking a nap, and eating some food. Melanie shuddered at the thought of how many times she had to take a shower and give Stephanie a bath. She never realized how hard it was to take care of an ill child until now.

As Melanie smiled at her closest friends, she couldn't help but slightly blush. It may sound weird… but she loved it when Shawn wore vests. She didn't know why, but when he did, she couldn't stop staring. Yeah, that sounded pretty weird.

"Hey, Mel." Shawn did a doubletake, opening and closing his mouth before he finally cleared his throat, "You look great."

And it was true. Well, in Shawn's opinion. He would never tell Melanie, but he really did like it when she pulled the front of hair out of her face. It made it easier to see her grey eyes and how they sparkled when she got excited or how they looked up at him in pure happiness… Shawn quickly shook his head before turning his attention back to Cory, who was panicking about kissing some girl for some weird reason.

"Oh, no." Cory panicked as he looked over at Sally, "Sally's wearing wool. I'm allergic. What if I sneeze in her mouth and pop her lungs?"

Melanie and Shawn stared at Cory in confusion and concern before Shawn wrapped his arm around his shoulder.

"Relax, man." Shawn smiled as he led Cory towards the refreshment table, with Melanie by his side, "Have a snack. Carbo load before the big race."

Cory looked down unimpressed, "With bean dip? Are you out of your mid?"

"I don't understand why you're so worried, Cory." Melanie stated as she crossed her arms. In her opinion, he could always opt out of kissing a girl. But, then again, he was Cory.

"Yeah. What are you worried about? You're breath?" Shawn asked confused and Cory slapped his hand over his mouth, making Melanie's eyes widen. _Bad move, Shawn,_ she thought, already seeing the gears turn.

"My breath?" Cory slowly brought his hand away from his mouth, eyes wide with panic, "I didn't even think about that, "Oh, man. I'm gonna kill them coming and going. I'm gonna blow us out of the closet. I'm getting out of here."

And to Melanie's amusement, Topanga walked right up to Cory as he turned to leave.

"Hey, Cory." Topanga greeted and Cory quickly covered his mouth with his two fingers, causing Melanie to roll her eyes and Shawn stare at him in confusion.

"Hi, Topanga." Melanie raised her eyebrow as Cory dropped his hand, "Boy, what a great party, huh? It was great! I was in the closet fourteen minutes. I'm gonna go home and ice my lips." Melanie and Shawn both lunged for Cory as he tried to run out the door.

"Cory?" Shawn asked confused, letting go of his arm.

"Eric was right; too much can go wrong." Cory stated as panic and fear filled his eyes.

"Cory, chill." Melanie looked at Shawn in amazement. She had never heard him speak to Cory in such a stern voice before. "You're going to fine. And you know why? Cause right up until the second you go up to that closet, I'll be right here with you; no matter what."

"And I will too," Melanie added as she threw her arm around Cory's shoulder with a smile, "No matter how much I find this whole seven minutes in heaven thing dumb, I'll stick by you."

Shawn grinned and placed his hand on Cory's shoulder, "Cause it's Cory, Shawn, and Mel. Or Mel, Shawn, and Cory. Or however you want it to be."

"Shawn and Melanie." Melanie's faced turned into a look of pure horror as Shawn turned to face her. She hadn't put her name in the bowl. Why was it in the bowl? Did Shawn or Cory put it in there? Maybe it was Topanga? Yeah, she had forgotten to tell Topanga that she wouldn't be at school today. Was this her revenge? Oh, she knew that Topanga could be devious, but not this devious.

On the other hand, Shawn's face seemed to light up at the two names that he heard. He got to kiss Melanie! He would be her first kiss! Shawn couldn't help but let the excited grin take over his face before he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Melanie K. standing behind him.

"You ready?" Melanie K. asked as she laced her fingers through Shawn's.

Shawn seemed to have an internal debate as he looked between an extremely relieved Melanie S. (and he couldn't help but feel a bit hurt) and an extremely happy Melanie K. Finally, with a shrug, Shawn gave an okay and allowed Melanie K. to lead him towards the closet.

"You okay Mel?" Cory asked, gently placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Hmmm," Melanie seemed to snap out of her daze and face Cory, "Oh, yeah. I'm all good. Almost died of a heart attack, but I'm good."

Cory gave a grin before looking at the place where Shawn once stood, his smiling falling into a frown as hurt overtook his features.

~8~

Watching as Shawn tried to close the closet door after his seven minutes were up, Melanie couldn't help but feel a bit hurt. Sure, Shawn had kissed a lot of girls before, but she was never there to really witness any of it. Plus, maybe she did have a tiny, little, itty-bitty crus- nope. Melanie shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Shawn was her best friend. She couldn't like him! It would make things too awkward between them. Giving a long sigh, Melanie watched as Shawn walked out and approached Cory, wearing a completely different shirt then the one he entered in.

Taking a sip of her soda, Melanie waited for the announcer guy to pull out the next two names.

"Let's see. How about Cory and…." She already knew what was coming, "Topanga!"

As Cory walked into the closet with Topanga, Shawn happily walked over to where she was sitting at an empty table, and sat down with a happy sigh.

"I'm guessing you had a good time." Melanie stated as she took another sip of her carbonated drink, trying not to feel jealous because Shawn was her _friend_.

Shawn only responded with a hum of happiness before staring off at a wall, giggling. Which happened to annoy Melanie. A lot.

~8~

Melanie lightly pulled her hair, annoyed with all the girls that were following her and Topanga because Cory didn't kiss her. Melanie didn't understand. She really didn't. Why was kissing so important and why did it dictate your popularity? No one was picking on her and she was the only person who refused to participate in the whole ordeal.

"Just because he didn't kiss her doesn't mean he's some kind of a freak." Melanie said as she looked at the horde of girls behind her, tired of people making fun of her best friend.

"Look all of you," Topanga finally snapped, glaring at the horde of girls behind her, "Any guy can just crawl into a closet and kiss a girl. But Cory's different because he is a really nice boy."

~8~

Grabbing the ringing phone, Melanie brought it up to her ear as she cradled a sleeping Stephanie to her chest.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mel."

"Shawn?" So, what if her stomach fluttered a little.

"Yeah. Umm, I couldn't help but notice that you didn't come to school today. I mean, everyone's talking about how Cory and Topanga finally kissed."

"I was planning on coming but Stephanie got sick."

"Oh, um, do you need any help watching her."

"Sure. You can come over if you like."

"Awesome. I'll be there in five minutes."

"Okay." _Can't wait to see you_.

* * *

 **Hi!**

 **Thank you for the reviews! They really make my day!**

 **Feedback is always appreciated!**

 **If anyone who reads this is an Outlander (Cough *Jamie Fraser is life* cough) fan, please check out my story! It's called, Please Don't Let Go.**

 **Please let me know what you think of it.**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**

 **P.S. Melanie and Shawn sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!**


	35. Sister Teresa

"So, my mom says 'Why don't you try being polite for just one day and see if people don't notice'." Cory said as he walked down hallway with Shawn and Melanie at his side. He had been telling how his mom didn't think he was the same adorable child as he used to be when he was a kid. Melanie rolled her eyes, _it's called growing up,_ she thought.

The three came to a stop and Shawn turned to face Cory, "Hey, for what it's worth, Cor, I think you're polite." Melanie raised her eyebrow as Shawn's brows furrowed and he looked away, "Then again, polite in my family means wearing a tie for your arraignment."

"But it is true, Cory," Melanie pulled her bag tighter over her shoulder as she tilted her head, "I do think that you are polite." She was telling the truth. Even though Cory could get a bit rude sometimes, he was probably one of the sweetest guy's she knew. Plus, he was her best friend and she knew that she would never be friends with a jerk.

Mr. Feeny's voice caught her attention and when she looked over at the staircase, she stared at it in horror. A kid was covered in a white, foamy substance, and Mr. Feeny was leading him by his arm. She made an 'O' face as she noticed that Mr. Feeny was holding a fire extinguisher and connected the dots; realizing that the boy must have been trying to put out a fire. Pulling a long strand of her brown hair out of her face, Melanie heard Mr. Feeny sneezed before watching Cory go up to him and say 'Bless you'.

"Oh, thank you." Mr. Feeny's face morphed into one of confusion as he looked at the group standing in front of him, "Mr. Matthews, that's surprisingly considerate."

"Good. Tell my mother." Cory responded and Melanie stifled a laugh, not noticing that Shawn had wrapped his arm around her shoulders and was currently hugging her to his body. Okay, so maybe Shawn thought Melanie was cute and pretty… and maybe he did have a tiny, itty-bitty crush on her, but it's not like he'd ever tell her that. He didn't want to ruin their friendship.

Mr. Feeny gave them one last questioning glance before heading back towards his office. A person moving to her left caught Melanie's eye and she watched as Eric walked in front of them.

"Oh, now watch as I shift into turbo polite." Cory said before he rushed off to open the door for Eric.

Melanie watched, amused as she leaned into Shawn's side, as Cory told Eric to tell their mom that he offered and that he was being polite before turning and crashing into the girl in front of him. Looking up- wait. Melanie did a doubletake as she realized that she had to actually look _up_ at Shawn. He had always been taller than her, he was probably the tallest kid in their class when they were in elementary school, and she did have to look up at him, but this time she had to actually physically crane her neck to look up at him.

There was a problem here.

Either Shawn was growing and she wasn't or that Shawn was growing and she was shrinking.

Trying to push her panic aside (she honestly didn't want to be short forever), Melanie shared a quick look with Shawn before looking back at Cory, who was staring at the books on the floor. Melanie could have sworn that he had just picked them up. But then again, she might need glasses so she could have just miss-seen what had happened, and they were pretty far away from Cory (Melanie had backed up so that she could lean against the lockers… and Shawn).

The girl in front of Cory had spun him around slowly, as if she were checking him out (which she could have been doing but Melanie couldn't really tell). Whoever that girl was, Melanie realized, might think that Cory actually likes her. It wasn't every day that a guy picked up your books for you when you dropped them. Melanie and Shawn slowly made their way towards Cory as the girl left him, writing her number on his hand.

"All right, Cor." Shawn applauded as he stared down at the number on Cory's hand. It wasn't every day that Cory got asked out.

"That girl," Cory whispered, reminding Melanie of a dramatic seen from a movie, "She wrote seven numbers on my hand." He looked up at Melanie and Shawn in confusion, "What could that possibly mean?"

"It means that she likes you," Melanie said as she rolled her eyes. Boys were so stupid sometimes, "Call her."

Cory looked at her as if she were crazy, "How can I call her if I don't have her-" Cory froze and slowly smiled as he looked down at his hand, "Oh?"

Melanie slapped her hand against her head and sighed, exhausted. She didn't understand how she had lasted so long with these two idiots.

~8~

"Wait," Topanga paused as she ate a scoop of her sundae, "So you're telling me that Cory got asked out."

Melanie hummed before taking a bite of her own sundae. She loved the combination of chocolate and peanuts and couldn't help but devour the sundae in front of her. It was vanilla ice cream with hot fudge generously applied (Melanie had basically dumped the whole container of fudge onto her ice cream) and peanuts sprinkled all over it.

"And who is this girl?" Topanga asked feeling a bit jealous. It wasn't fair. She was supposed to ask Cory out, if he was ever gonna man-up and ask her out, but now this new chick was ruining everything.

"I don't know," Melanie wiped her mouth, "But she has shoulder-length brown hair and wears a jean jacket."

Nodding, Topanga ate her ice cream and stared out into the distance. Melanie sighed and took one more bite of her sundae before looking at Topanga, "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure Cory will find out that this girl isn't the one for him." Topanga nodded again and Melanie gave her a big smile, "Besides, we still have our two-day-sleepover to start and I don't think that this is gonna be enough ice cream."

Every few months the girls were allowed to miss two days of school to have a continuous sleepover with one another. It didn't even really feel like a sleepover anymore because of how often Melanie and Stephanie stayed over at Topanga's house. But either way, Melanie had put Stephanie to bed an hour ago and was ready to start the party.

"We have some more ice cream in the freezer." Topanga said and the two girls shared a smile before racing towards the basement door.

~8~

The second night was always had their deepest talks.

Topanga would talk about Cory and how at school some kids still considered her weird. Melanie would reassure her that she was the best friend she could ever ask for and not to worry about those kids because they were just jealous of her. She would also reassure Topanga that if Cory didn't do anything soon, she would punch him.

When it was Melanie's turn, she would talk about her parents and how she missed them. She would also tell funny stories of Cory and Shawn, but also how she sometimes felt that she was intruding in on their friendship. They were both guys and she was a girl, so she sometimes thought that they didn't want her around, but Topanga always reassured her and promised to beat them up if they ever did abandon her.

This time was different, though. Melanie had brought her crush (she still wasn't sure if it was a crush or if it was a phase) on Shawn and Topanga had burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Melanie asked, her entire face a bright red and she nervously clenched the sides of her pajama pants. This was a serious matter, Topanga shouldn't be laughing.

"It's just that… that…" Topanga managed to wheeze out, "I never thought you would admit it."

Melanie was shocked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on." Topanga gave her a look, "The way you act around each other. You're always so close. You're just figuring this out now?!"

"But that doesn't mean I liked him or like him or.. Gah!" Melanie tried to protest but she couldn't seem to be able to form words. Topanga just continued to laugh as if this was the funniest thing that had ever happened to her.

"Stop laughing!"

"I can't!"

Melanie stared at Topanga, unamused, as the girl laughed. Finally, she seemed to calm down.

"Don't worry," Topanga wiped a tear from her eye, "I'm sure that you're gonna be fine. You're gonna grow up, get married, have a kid with Shawn-"

"TOPANGA!"

~8~

Melanie gave an 'Oomph' as something hard slammed into her.

"Hey, watch where you're going." Melanie whined, rubbing her head. All she wanted to do was go home and eat some Mac and Cheese. Was that too much to ask for?

"Mel, hey," Melanie's eyes widened as she stared at a flustered Shawn in front of her, "Look, I need your help." He immediately had her attention, "Cory's in trouble,"

"Okay, what else is new?" Melanie crossed her arms.

"No, you don't understand. Cory's girlfriend is Harley's sister."

Melanie's eyes widened and before Shawn knew it, she had taken his hand and was dragging him with her.

"Well, where are we going?" She asked as the wind ruffled her hair and Shawn took the lead, taking her to the lot where they showed movies.

After leading Melanie to a larger, black car, he gave the door three light taps and one was given in reply.

"Okay, he knows we're here." Shawn said as he breathed a sigh of relief. Melanie looked around, bored. She didn't understand why she was still here. Cory seemed fine.

A few minutes of silence passed a loud yell caught Melanie's ears and she jumped up. Looking up, she noticed that Cory was yelling and trying to climb out of the car roof.

"Get me outta here, Hunter! Come on!" He shouted and Melanie helped Shawn get Cory down. Cory paused when he saw Melanie, "Mel? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, great! Say both our names. Now Harley's going to be after us too!" Shawn exclaimed before he grabbed Melanie's hand and took off running, Cory behind them.

Melanie's eyes were wide as she ran. She couldn't believe it. She had only been gone for two days and her boys had already gotten in this much trouble. Melanie let out a giggle, ignoring Shawn's confused gaze, maybe they did need her. Who else would keep them out of trouble?

~8~

Melanie and Shawn quickly, and stiffly, walked to a Cory's locker. He had decided that it would be best if he hid in his locker all day so that Harley wouldn't find him and attack him. While Melanie would've originally called him crazy, she now understood that Cory wasn't actually being dramatic all those times he was panicking about Harley.

"Cor," Shawn whispered as he shoved the notes through the vents in the locker while Melanie kept watch, "Here are the notes from fourth period. How long are you gonna be in there?"

"Just slip my diploma through the grate."

Shawn sighed before motioning to Melanie that it was time to move. They had gotten about five steps in before they heard Cory.

"Wait a minute," The two of them sighed before walking back over to Cory's locker and Melanie opened the door, "Shawn, what kind of notes are these?" Melanie stared down at the paper in Cory's hand, "You've got doodles, tic-tac-toe, and a piece of chewed gum."

"Great, you've touched it. Now I can't eat it." Shawn complained and Melanie crinkled her nose in disgust. To be honest, that was pretty gross.

"It's bad enough I have to breathe through gym socks." Cory stated, annoyed that his friend couldn't take decent notes. Now that he thought about it, why didn't he just ask Melanie to take the notes for him, "Give me some notes-" Cory stared behind Shawn in horror.

"What?" Melanie turned around and gasped at the sight of Frank, Joey, and Harley. Grasping Shawn's hand, she gave it a little tug, "We should really get going."

"Yeah," Cory agreed as he grabbed the locker door and tried to close it, "I was just leaving."

As soon as Cory closed the door, Melanie and Shawn slide in front of it, trying to block Harley from getting in. Harley easy pushed them to the side, where they ran into Frank. They watched as Harley pulled Cory out of the locker, effortlessly, and frowned.

"Hey, that's our friend." Shawn said as he tried to stop Harley, but it didn't work as Frank just pushed him into the locker with Melanie's following, "And this is my locker."

The locker was hot and stuffy. Melanie covered her nose as she smelled something awful. It smelled like there was a dead animal in here and, for all she knew, there could be.

"Ew, Shawn," Melanie pinched her nose, "When was the last time you washed your socks?"

"Um… what day is it?"

"Shawn, that's so gross."

"You ain't nothing Keiner!" Shawn yelled as he shoved the locker door, "I ain't afraid of you!"

Nobody responded and Melanie began pushing at the door, "I think they left!"

Shawn was quiet for a few minutes before he finally spoke, "Cory?"

"Hello?" Melanie called, giving the locker one last, hard shove.

* * *

"And my mom trusted you. She _loved_ you and you just left her there."

"Look, I'm sorry that I left. I just wanted the best for her, and it wasn't me."

"She didn't want the best! She wanted you."

A silence passed between them, before she spoke again.

"Did you know that every night she would show me old videos and pictures of you."

His eyes were glistening and it was then she realized that he hadn't wanted to leave.

"She actually kept those?"

* * *

 **I know that I'm the author, but I love, love, LOVE the sneak peak!**

 **Do you like it?**

 **Taffyrose: Thank you so much for your review! It really made my day! I'm glad you like this story.**

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 **Thank you all for reviewing! It really makes my day to hear your feedback on the chapters I post, so please don't be afraid to tell me. WE MADE IT TO 100 REVIEWS! THANK YOU ALL!**

 **Hope you liked this chapter.**

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 **Ana**

 **P.S. I wrote a Walking Dead fanfiction, so if you're interested, please check it out. It's Carl/OC**


	36. The Beard

Melanie didn't know why there was a consistent tapping on her head. She swore that her alarm clock couldn't move, and she was sure that she had finally been able to put Stephanie to sleep… after five hours that is. Melanie groaned and shook her head, trying to get whatever was poking her to stop. It didn't work. Reaching up, Melanie placed her hand over the object that was poking her and froze when she gripped a warm hand.

Why was there a warm hand on her head?

Melanie frowned as she slowly opened her eyes. Thinking that she was at home and in her room, Melanie nearly had a heart-attack as she came face to face with Mr. Feeny. Giving a slight shriek, Melanie jerked back and landed on the floor with a thud. The classroom rippled with laughter as she rubbed her sore butt and Mr. Feeny looked at her unimpressed.

"It's nice to know that you're back with us, Miss. Strong." Melanie pouted as she met Mr. Feeny's eyes and he gestured to her seat, "Please get back into your seat, class has begun."

Melanie rolled her eyes and clambered back into her chair, narrowing her eyes at Shawn and Cory's giggling figures. Reaching over, she flicked the back of their heads and watched, satisfied as they made a face and rubbed the back of their heads. Melanie's eyes widened as she suddenly remembered something and leaned over towards Shawn.

"Why didn't you wake me?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. She had always remembered to wake Shawn up before any teacher saw that he was asleep… so why didn't he wake her up.

"I tried for, like, fifteen minutes." Shawn sighed as he saw the look of disbelief on Melanie's face and waved his hands, "I've been poking you. You even grabbed my hand."

Melanie's mouth dropped open as she finally understood what had been annoying her as she slept and she quickly turned around, trying to hid her flushed cheeks.

~8~

"Stacy, Linda. Linda, Stacy." Melanie rolled her eyes as Shawn sat down, "I've never been more depressed in my whole life."

"I know," Cory sighed as he leaned back in his chair and stared at Shawn enviously, "Two beautiful girls both want you, you poor guy. There's gotta be a hotline you can call." Melanie snickered at Cory's remark and ignored Shawn's glare, "Of course, with your luck a hot girl would pick up and would want you."

"If I reject Linda, she'll get upset." Shawn stated as he looked at Cory for help, "and there is no way I would ever want to see a pout on those beautiful full lips."

Melanie couldn't help but shoot Shawn a look of disgust and subconsciously touched her lips, not noticing how Shawn's eyes flickered over to quickly look at her lips. Poking her lips, Melanie couldn't help but think that her lips looked pretty nice too. She felt like they fit her face and, while they weren't extremely full, they were pretty plump. Pouting slightly, Melanie slumped farther down into her chair and gently pushed the food on her plate around.

"Actually, it looks pretty good." Shawn spoke as he stared at Melanie's pout. Okay, so maybe he did like Linda and her full lips, but he swore that Melanie had the cutest pout in the whole world. Whenever she pouted, she would always pull the corner of her lips in and push her lower lip out. Plus, she gave the best puppy eyes.

Cory looked between Shawn and Melanie, wondering where he was seeing Linda's pouting lips, "Where do you see that?"

Shawn shook his head and blinked, his dilemma coming back into mind, "But-but what if I reject Stacy and she… flips out and gets a sex change operation and comes back as a really angry man who's seeking her revenge." Melanie and Cory gave Shawn a 'really' look, which he replied with a shrug, "Hey, I've seen it happen."

"Shawn, just choose." Cory stated, and Melanie nodded her head in agreement. She could honestly care less about Shawn's love less (she was totally lying to herself) and just wanted to eat her lunch in peace.

"I can't!" Shawn whined before he took a sip of his fruit-punch.

"Yes, you can." Cory argued, "You did it once."

"When?" Shawn looked at Cory with confusion and Cory rolled his eyes.

"At lunch. When you picked meatloaf over chicken." Cory stated, "How did you do that?"

"Well, I couldn't decide, and then I saw that you were getting chicken so I figured that if I changed my mind, I could have some of yours." Shawn slowly said as he thought it through before gasping. To be honest, though, Melanie had gotten roast beef and her meal had tasted the best compared to the chicken and meatloaf.

"She's back?" Cory asked as he turned to stare in the same direction as Shawn, just hoping to get a glimpse of those pouty lips.

"How do you know if you're having an idea?" Shawn suddenly asked and Melanie looked at him with wide, alarmed eyes.

"Shawn," Melanie asked slowly, making sure that her words were precise and clear, "Are you serious?"

~8~

Melanie pouted as she stared at Shawn, who was trying his best to avoid Stacy. Standing beside her, Topanga couldn't help but notice her friend's sudden mood change and followed her eyes to Shawn Hunter's form. Topanga smiled slightly when she saw that Melanie's pout deepened as Shawn placed his arm over Stacy's shoulder.

"Is somebody jealous?" Topanga asked and Melanie let out a small shriek as she jumped, not expecting Topanga to say anything. Melanie honestly thought that Topanga was admiring Cory and she hoped that it would give her a chance to look at Shawn, she meant, make sure that everything was going okay with Stacy and Shawn.

"No," Melanie denied as she looked away, blushing. No way was she jealous of Stacy. Sure, she was dating one of Melanie's best friends and was constantly around him, but that didn't mean she was jealous. In all honestly, she just wanted Shawn to be happy.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don't like how Cory is fawning over Linda." Topanga stated as she looked towards the pair in front of her.

Melanie could only hum in response as she continued to stare at the happy couple. They even looked like they went together. Stacy with long, wavy brown hair and light brown eyes; and Shawn, with his light brown hair and blue eyes. She was tall and he was tall. Melanie sighed _, they matched perfectly well._

The ringing of the bell caught Melanie's attention and, breathing deeply, Melanie swung her bag onto her back and made her way down to Mr. Feeny's room, ready for class.

~8~

"Young and inexperienced," Mr. Feeny's voice droned, "He finds himself caught on the horns of an agonizing dilemma. And so, the young President Kennedy, charged with keeping the peace, fears that his inexperience may bring about the destruction of the entire world."

Melanie's jumped as Cory's voice rang through the classroom, "Oh, give him a break! This was his first big crisis! It wasn't his fault he liked the girl!"

Melanie raised her eyebrows as she looked at Cory in confusion. What was going in through his mind?

"Mr. Matthews," Mr. Feeny gave Cory a concerned look.

"Yes?"

"Put your head down. It's naptime."

~8~

"Hey," Melanie said as she walked next to Topanga down the crowded hallway, "I haven't seen Cory with Linda."

"I haven't seen Shawn with Stacy." Topanga agreed as the two girls both looked for their friends.

Noticing that the two boys stood next to each other, waiting in front of Melanie's locker, Topanga and Melanie shared a look.

"Do you think that…"

"Most definitely."

* * *

 ***laughs nervously* So, I think it's been two months since I've last updated.**

 **Anyway, here's the long, overdue chapter.**

 **Please review! Any review is appreciate!**

 **Thank you for all the reviews! They really make my day!**

 **Guest(Sarah Sepanski): Thank you so much! Haha, I'm glad you like the story this much. And for what happened in the locker, only time will tell.**

 **Guest: I picture Raffey Cassidy as Melanie. Who do you picture her as?**

 **Guest(Pippythewriter): The whole reason I started writing this was because of how Shawn and Katy got together, haha! I'm really glad you like Melanie and Shawn!**

 **Kaebaby: Here's the update! Sorry it took so long. Finals were the past two weeks so I had busy studying. I'm glad you like my story!**

 **I tried to write the name of each guest I answered but I don't know if you can see them.** **Thank you for all the reviews! They really make my day! Please don't be afraid to leave a comment, I really appreciate all your ideas and feedback.**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**

 **P.S. There's a Levi/OC story up if you're interested in reading it.**


	37. Turnaround

"Turnaround Dance, huh." Shawn said as he examined the flyer on the wall, "Girls ask the guys. Merry Christmas to me." Rubbing his hands together, Shawn walked down the steps and headed for his locker. He totally knew who was going to ask him; there was no question in his mind.

"Ah, it's about time the girls had to worry and sweat and write out a list of topics to talk about on their hand." Cory smiled to himself as he thought about how simple this dance was going to be for him, not noticing Shawn's look of concern.

"You do that?"

"No," Cory shoved his hands into his pockets, "Never. I'm just glad the pressure's off. You know, know we've got to sit back and wait." Cory smiled as he leaned against a locker.

"Is that what you think? The pressure's off?" Eric said as he overheard Cory, and smiled, "Dream on, girls."

As he turned to leave, Cory reached out and grabbed Eric's arm, "Wait, wait! Come back, come back, come back."

"Look," Eric started as though he were about to reveal his deepest, darkest secret, and Cory and Shawn leaned in, "A turnaround dance tells you where you stand. I mean, the type of girl who asks you who you are."

"Well, who are you if nobody asks?" Cory folded his hands together, nervously.

"Then you're you." Eric stated.

"Well, how do you get asked by a cool girl?" Cory asked as he gave Eric a smirk.

"Positioning."

"Huh?"

"Look, you wanna cool girl, hang near her locker. Stand in her direct vision. If she can't see you, she can't ask you." Eric said, "Remember positioning."

 _Okay,_ Shawn thought as he looked around for a certain figure, _positioning. All I gotta do is get in the right position._

~8~

"Hey Cory, Shawn." Melanie greeted as she walked towards them next to Topanga, "What are you guys doing?"

"Oh, you know, just standing." Cory said as he dropped his arms and threw his bag onto his back, "And being here."

"Really? Are you sure you're not looking for a date?" Melanie wasn't stupid. She saw the conversation the boys had with Eric and she totally saw that Shawn was trying to stay in her line of vision. He would always move so that Cory wasn't blocking him.

"Could be," Cory nodded.

"Well, I'm not going." Topanga said and Melanie noted the look of panic and fear after she had said that.

"My only hope." Cory dramatically motioned towards Topanga and Melanie laughed lightly. She saw through Cory's sarcasm and knew that he was worried that no one was going to ask him, "I mean, why?"

"It's a protest. The concept of a turnaround dance implies that all the other times only the boys can do the asking. That's destructive, gender-biased thinking and we have to get beyond that."

"Why?" Shawn panicked as he looked at Melanie, who was staring at Topanga in awe. It was no secret that Melanie admired Topanga for her feminist thinking and if she agreed with Topanga, then who would ask him… okay, lots of girls would ask him, but not the one he wanted to.

"Besides, that weekend my daddy's taking me New York for Christmas shopping." Topanga smiled at the two boys in front of her, "I'll see you in class."

As Melanie turned to leave she felt a hand grab her arm and turned to see Shawn staring at her, his face slightly flushed.

"Um, hey, Mel…" Melanie raised her eyebrows as she looked at Shawn, waiting for him to continue, "Are you going to the dance?"

"I'm planning on going, yes."

"Ah, cool. Do you have a date?"

Tilting her head to the side, Melanie looked at Shawn, "No, not yet."

Before Shawn could ask another question, Melanie had already turned and pulled her arm out of his grip, gently. Shawn could only watch her walk away, pouting, not seeing the small smile on Melanie's face. Oh, she did have someone in mind to ask to the dance… she just didn't know how to ask him.

~8~

The lecture that Mr. Turner was giving the class was pretty cool to Melanie. Reaching down to grab a piece of paper from her backpack, Melanie flinched when she felt something hit the top of her head before landing on the floor in front of her. Staring at the small piece of crumpled up paper, Melanie lifted her head to look at Shawn, who was looking at Mr. Turner with an intense focus. She immediately knew that he did it.

Sighing, Melanie opened the paper and grabbed her pencil, ready to respond to the question he asked. It wasn't unusual for Shawn to pass notes to her during class… in fact, it was completely normal. Whenever Shawn had a question about what they were learning, he would pass notes to Melanie; sometimes getting their whole row to pass them to her if they weren't sitting close to one another.

Readily prepared to write down an explanation to what Mr. Turner was talking about, Melanie froze, a pink blush rising to her cheeks.

 _Who you going to the dance with?_

 _A boy._ Melanie scribbled down before tossing the piece of paper towards Shawn, missing the disappointed look on his face when he read it. Again, the piece of paper landed on her desk.

 _Which boy._

 _A certain boy._

Before Shawn could respond Mr. Turner was walking down their row, talking to the class.

"What if day one, I walked into this classroom." Melanie nearly laughed at Mr. Turner's impression, "Aye, 'ow ya doin. My name's Mr. Turner. I'm gonna be learnin yous guys some good English. Okay? What would you think?"

"I'd have a shot at an 'A'," Melanie cracked a smiling, knowing that was true. On the note he wrote her, he wrote _who you going wit_ instead of _who are you going with._

"How you speak, how you look effects peoples' perceptions of who you are." Mr. Turner sighed as the bell rang and Melanie quickly packed up her books, stopping when she heard Shawn's words to Cory.

"Cory, I just figured out how to make your date with Ingrid work."

"It's okay, Shawn." Cory looked down at the books in his hand, "I've excepted my average fate."

"What are you guys talking about?" Melanie asked as she walked over and stood next to Shawn, noticing how he positioned his body so she could see his face.

Shawn ignored her, "No, look. You'd be happy to go the dance with her if she were cool."

"Yeah, but she's not cool." Cory stated and everything suddenly clicked for Melanie. Of course, Cory was upset that he hadn't been asked out by the hottest girl in the school (or Topanga wasn't going), and the person who did ask him was a nerd. Melanie knew who Ingrid was. She had math with the girl and it was amazing to watch how quickly that girl did math. Seriously. She could have a two-sided paper done in under five minutes.

"So, we make her cool." Shawn explained as he gave Cory a smile.

"Is that possible?"

"it's all here in the pig play," Shawn held up the book Mr. Turner had assigned them for homework, "You know, we change her clothes, her hair, her whole look."

"Shawn, we're guys. What do we know about girl's clothes?" Cory stated and Melanie tensed as she felt Shawn's arm wrap around her shoulders and pull her close to his side.

"That's why we've got Mel."

~8~

It wasn't until Shawn opened his backpack in the middle of science that the piece of paper fell out of his bag. Slowly picking it up, Shawn unfolded the small paper and smiled at the sight of Melanie's loopy handwriting that littered the page.

Wanna go to the dance?

Shawn swore that he felt his heart jump in his chest and tried the best to not get out of his seat.

 _Eric was right_ , Shawn thought as he reclined in his seat, still holding onto the paper, _it's all about positioning._

~8~

"I'm sorry about this, Ingrid." Melanie said as she pulled the large curlers out of Ingrid's hair, "Personally, I think you're already pretty."

"Thanks, Melanie." Ingrid flinched as Melanie began to brush eye shadow onto her eye, not used to being dolled up, "But it's the least I could do for Cory. He did agree to go to the dance with me."

"Melanie," Morgan's voice rang throughout Cory's bathroom as the little girl slowed to a stop and held out the piece of paper in her hands, "This is from Shawn and Cory."

Melanie looked at the paper in her hands before crumpling it and throwing it into the trash.

"Come on," Melanie opened the door for Ingrid, "Let's go show the boys your new look."

"Here she comes," Morgan began for them and Melanie was the first to walk down the stairs.

"Wow," Shawn said as he looked at Melanie in awe, "She looks just like Mel."

Melanie rolled her eyes before stopping next to Cory, "That's because I am Mel."

"Ladies and gentlemen," Melanie announced, "Ingrid Iverson."

"Wow," Cory said as he watched Ingrid walk down the stairs.

"Is it okay?"

"Yeah!"

"Nope." Melanie frowned at Shawn's answer. She had not just spent two-hours of working on Ingrid for Shawn to say that she wasn't 'good enough'.

"What the heck do you mean?" Melanie fumed as Cory stared at Shawn, shocked.

"I'm telling you we missed. It doesn't work. It doesn't work at all."

"What do you mean it doesn't work, Hunter?" Melanie stalked up to the table towards where he stood.

"Melanie said I looked pretty." Ingrid stated as she looked at Cory in confusion.

"Yeah. Shawn, she looks gorgeous." Cory defended Ingrid, not noticing Melanie roughly packing bag.

"Yeah, and what does that give you?"

"Pretty much everything."

Shawn sighed, "Cory, we're going for cool here. Cool is more than just looks… it's an attitude."

Melanie, who hadn't heard a single word of the conversation going on, stopped at the door to the patio and turned to Shawn, who had finally noticed Melanie at the door.

"Do the makeover yourself next time." Melanie fumed as she flipped her hair over her shoulder and went out the door, slamming it lightly behind her.

"Now that is a gorgeous and cool woman."

~8~

Melanie nervously pulled at the dark blue dress that she was wearing as she stood inside the gym waiting for Shawn. Before Topanga had left, she had helped Melanie with her hair and makeup since Melanie seemed incapable of putting it on herself. Her long, brown hair was pulled back into a French braid and she had purposely left out some strands. Her makeup was very natural, only eyeliner, mascara, and foundation.

"Hey, I'm meeting a gir-" Melanie turned around to come face to face with Shawn, "Mel?"

"Hey, Shawn." Melanie nervously twirled a piece of her hair around her finger.

"You look… amazing." Shawn breathed.

"Thanks," Melanie blushed, "So, do you wanna head inside now?"

"Yeah."

As they entered the gym, Melanie noticed Cory sitting alone at a table, with no Ingrid, and turned to look at Shawn.

"Where's Ingrid." There was no question in the matter that Shawn had arrived at the dance with Cory and Ingrid.

"She dumped him," Shawn replied as he took a sip of some punch and Melanie frowned. Making her way through the crowd, Melanie pulled back a chair, startling Cory, and sat down.

"Tough day, huh?" She asked as she looked at Cory, hearing Shawn take a seat next to her.

"You hear it from the women's network?" Cory looked at her and she shook her head.

"Shawn told me. He was here when it happened."

"Hey, girls." Melanie slightly turned her head to see Eric approaching them with a drink… and no date.

"Eric, not now. Any time, but not now." Cory said as he tried to shoo Eric away. Melanie couldn't help but frown again. She didn't understand why there was such a need to be cool. It didn't make sense. Did it really matter how you dressed? Or how you did your hair? The only person Melanie wanted to impress was herself.

"Why? Cause you got dumped twice?"

"Three times." Shawn corrected.

'Wow."

"I don't see you with your date," Cory retaliated and Eric sighed as he sat down next to Cory.

"Yeah, where's Jaqueline?" Shawn asked.

"Funny thing." Eric said, "her old boyfriend came to town, it turns out things aren't over between them, she hopes I'll understand."

"Do you?" Cory asked.

"Oh, yeah." Eric said and Melanie could see that he was lying through his teeth, "Completely relaxed about this whole situation.

"No, you're not." Melanie stated and gave Eric as smirk as he glared at her.

"Hi," Melanie turned to see an older boy holding a camera looking at them, "Would you like a picture to remember the dance?"

"Drop dead!" Eric barked and Melanie held in a snicker.

"Yeah, so relaxed." Cory teased before turning to the frightened boy who was trying to leave, "No, no. Wait. Come back. Take a picture. A picture of the three coolest guys at the dance and the prettiest girl at the dance."

Melanie couldn't help but blush at Cory's words.

"Yeah, we're all sitting at the losers table," Eric snipped and Cory shushed him.

"Smile now, and in twenty years, if anyone asks, are dates were in the bathroom."

"Hey," Shawn said as he pulled Melanie over towards Cory and Eric, "My date is right here."

Eric laughed as they all positioned themselves in front of the camera, "Shut up."

"Alright, everybody say cheese."

"You gotta say dumped." Shawn stated with a chuckle.

"Dumped."

"Dumped."

"Cheese."

"Cheese."

* * *

 **Do you guys want another sneak peak? I think it has been a while since my last one.**

 **Thank you for all the reviews!**

 **MarvelWorksWonders: It makes me so happy that you look forward to reading this story so much. The older version of Melanie in Girl Meets World is still undecided. I have a picture of the person but I don't know who they are. Plus, I'm not sure if I want her to be the set older Melanie. Let me know if you have any ideas!**

 **narelclollie: Thanks!**

 **slug sage: I'm not positive on who I want to play older Melanie. I think I have an idea, but I'm not sure. Let me know if you have any ideas! and thank you!**

 **Guest(Pippythewriter): Thank you! What Melanie and Topanga were both thinking was that Shawn and Cory got 'dumped' for playing with Linda and Stacy. I'm really excited to write Career Day and Home because I feel like they're going to give a lot of insight on how Melanie's character is growing.**

 **Guest(Winter kiss): Thank you!**

 **I'm trying my best to respond to everyone's reviews so please let me know if I missed yours. Also, please don't be afraid to review or PM me. Any review/ idea is appreciated.**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**

 **P.S. I published a Benny/OC (Sandlot) story. Please check it out and review it if you're interested.**


	38. Cyrano

"Cyrano de Bergerac stands in the shadows, whispering poetry to the lovely Roxanna, but she thinks it's the good-looking guy speaking to her." Melanie watched in awe as Mr. Turner walked around the room, explaining the story. So far, Melanie loved this story because of all the angst it seemed to hold, and Melanie loved angst. She loved the feeling of the two characters' hearts breaking (and gosh, did she sound morbid) only to come back together as the two settled the odds that defied them. She also loved when they never did settle the odds and instead, went their own separate way. Heartbreaking, yes, but worth the agony as the two characters came to a final stance—. "So, our poor, big-nosed lug wins the heart of the woman he loves, but he wins it for somebody else."

Melanie could practically hear Topanga's sigh as Mr. Turner walked to the front of the room, "That is so sweet and so noble, that he would sacrifice his own happiness to help his friend."

"Other opinions?" Mr. Turner asked with a shrug and the class responded with a collected loser while Melanie's 'I loved it' rang loud and clear. Blushing, Melanie sank further into her seat as she felt the swarm of eyes on her.

"Okay, okay," Melanie mentally thanked Mr. Turner as all the eyes turned to him, "Define loser."

"Big dip." Shawn stated, making sure to punctuate his words, and Melanie rolled her eyes. _Obviously men have no appreciation for good books,_ she thought as she tugged at her hair and frowned as she gave it a look. She had been thinking about cutting it but wasn't sure. She loved her long hair and dreaded on what to think it may look like short.

"It makes no sense," Cory went further into his explanation, "I mean, he likes this girl and then he passes her on to another guy."

"Dip," Shawn nodded, "The biggest."

"Topanga, Melanie, can you refute the dip theory." Mr. Turner asked, for those were his only students that disagreed with the class.

Turning around, Topanga made eye contact with Melanie and the two had a silent conversation before Topanga turned back around and started speaking, "Cyrano preforms a totally selfless act and he does it for the sake of love. That is so romantic."

"Why?" Shawn asked exasperated, not understanding why Melanie and Topanga liked this story so much, "What does he get out of it? He knocks himself out spewing poetry, his friend gets the girl. All he can do is go home and blow his big nose."

"Rebuttal from the estrogen section." Mr. Turner stated and Melanie rolled her eyes.

"Boys don't understand passion and romance, and never will understand women." Topanga turned around to face the class, "And that's why all of you will spend half your lives confused and the other half paying alimony."

"This is interesting." Mr. Turner pondered aloud as he got up and walked towards the back of the room, "The women here find Cyrano compelling and romantic, and yet the men find him misguided and dip like. What does this tell us?"

"Women like dips?" Cory guessed and Melanie scoffed and shared an eyeroll with Topanga.

"Sorry, Matthews, no luck." Mr. Turner said and Melanie raised her hand, "Yes, Melanie?"

"It shows us that men don't understand what women find romantic." Melanie explained, trying to ignore the class stares, "Men often think that being tall, having muscles, and just being masculine in general is enough to attract a women's interest and…love." Melanie glanced at Mr. Turner who gave her an encouraging nod, "But in reality, women appreciate small gestures like holding their hands and opening the door for them."

Unbeknownst to her, Shawn had been writing a mental list of what she had just said because, hey, if women liked it, then Melanie was also bound to like it. Shawn smiled to himself, he knew Melanie would like small gestures, he did catch her reading all those romance novels (which she had denied and said they were action but he knew Rome and Julietwhen he saw it).

"Will this be on the test?" He asked and Mr. Turner turned and gave him a sly smile.

"Oh, yeah. In ways you cannot yet imagine."

~8~

Melanie happily laughed as she walked down the stairs next to Cory and Shawn. They were just coming back from lunch and, even though she didn't buy, the three of them were making fun of the lunch food and Harley.

"I'm telling you, the macaroni and cheese had more grease than Harley's hair." Cory stated and Melanie let out another laugh, silently agreeing. She had seen a literal pool of grease in Cory's mac and cheese. So much so, that it actually looked like the food was swimming in it.

"I think that's how they made it," Shawn smiled and laughed as he heard Melanie laugh even harder, "They just turned him over and wrung him out."

Looking forward, the three of them stopped as they came face-to-face with Harley and his gang, their mouths dropping and their fingers pointing as they gave a horrified gasp. All traces of humor had been erased from their face.

"And I thought it was gonna be a slow day," Melanie stumbled lightly over her own feet as Harley walked towards them, causing them to back up. Thankfully, Shawn had quickly steadied her before turning his attention back to Harley.

"What? You think we were talking about your hair?" Cory laughed nervously as Harley cornered then against the locker, "No, no. Everyone knows that your hair is not greasy."

"Why don't you test it and tell me." Harley dared and Cory reached out and swiped his hand over Harley's hair.

"Wow," Cory pulled his hand back, "Dry as a bone."

Melanie held back a laugh as Cory tried to rest against the locker, but his hand slipped because it _was_ that greasy. _Maybe Harley shouldn't dare someone unless he knew that what he was opposing was true_ , Melanie thought as she watched Harley angrily shuffle and Cory scramble up, apologizing, _it would save him from embarrassment._

"Here's a quarter, Baboon." Melanie watched as Cory shakily took the quarter, "Call your parents and say goodbye."

"Uh, Harley, you know, in many countries, what I said about your hair, it might be considered a compliment." Cory stuttered as he clumsily made his way over to the phone, "For example, Greece."

A shrill laugh caused Melanie to flinch and stare at the woman next to Harley. Whoever she was, Melanie immediately didn't like her. Melanie watched as Shawn strolled towards them, and she knew what his intentions were… well, the other half of his intentions. Standing in front of her lockers, Melanie willed herself not to be jealous as she watched Shawn flirt with Cory, and soon, she left. Sure, it wasn't the nicest thing to do, but Shawn seemed to have everything under control. Obviously, her help wasn't needed when Shawn's flirting was there.

She obviously missed Shawn's panicked look for her as Frankie dragged him and Cory into the cafeteria.

~8~

"They're just so infuriating!" Melanie exclaimed as she sat on Topanga's bed, Stephanie in front of her. She hadn't spoken with Cory or Shawn for the rest of the week because she couldn't _find them anywhere_. She wouldn't be lying when she said it hurt her feelings, immensely.

"I completely understand what you're saying." Topanga agreed as she pulled the brush through her hair and turned to face Melanie, "It concerns me that men have such a hard time understanding what women want, especially since they are so simple."

"I couldn't agree more," Melanie winced as Stephanie pulled on her hair, "My mother never looks happy when my father hands her a new wallet or a new pair of shoes." Melanie sighed and leaned back against the wall, "Sometimes, when she gets really drunk, she comes into my room and tells me how much she misses him. All she wants him to do is stop showing her off as a trophy wife. She said that no materialistic present will ever satisfy what she truly yearns for, a hug and kiss every day."

"I'm sorry," Topanga said as she squeezed Melanie's knee and Melanie gave a light laugh, pulling her hair out of Stephanie's grasp.

"Why are you sorry, Peaches?" Topanga let out a light laugh as Melanie brought back her childhood nickname she gave her, "It's not your fault."

"I know, but I feel bad that your parents aren't happily married." Topanga confessed as she went back to brushing her hair.

"Yeah, but they're not home enough to really bother me and Steph." Melanie pointed out before she changed the subject, the topic getting too deep and knowing that she was going to have to start lying if Topanga continued to talk about it, "Anyway, what do you want to do tonight? I brought my mother's makeup kit if you wanted to play around with that."

"Definitely." Topanga tied her hair back as she jumped onto her bed, sitting so that she was facing Melanie. "Let's do a princess look this time."

Smiling and nodding, Melanie pulled the giant box out of her bag before laying it on the bed and opening it. Every sort of makeup laid in the box, all used. She had been bringing this makeup kit over since she was in elementary school and her mother never seemed to mind or care.

"I have the perfect color for you. Close your eyes," Topanga did as Melanie asked and Melanie pulled out a light pink color before brushing it onto Topanga's eyelids.

* * *

"Are you going to be coming over for Christmas this year?"

"I… I don't know."

"You can't let him dictate what you do with your life."

"I know, but it's been thirteen years since he- "

"Left you, I know. Come on, where's that strong independent woman I know and love?"

"Hiding in the shell of her former self."

"Oh, stop being so dramatic. You were fine yesterday."

"Yeah, but that's because I didn't know that _he'd_ be coming."

"You're acting like a teenager."

"I live with a teenager. What do you expect."

* * *

 **Sorry it's not the best sneak peak. I really don't want to give a lot away. This chapter was shorter for a reason. I did NOT want Melanie to be in the plot a lot for this chapter.**

 **Thanks for the reviews!**

 **MarvelWorksWonders: Thank you for your list of actresses! I really, really appreciate it! I've been looking through and deciding who I like and so far I've narrowed it down to three!**

 **narelclollie: I'm glad you liked the past chapter! Honestly, I'm glad Melanie asked Shawn too. At first, I wasn't gonna make her but I changed my mind haha.**

 **Guest (Pippythewriter): No problem! I'm glad that you told me that you were confused and didn't have to wonder about what I had meant. I'll try doing career day as the next sneak peak.**

 **vampangel25: I'm glad you like this story!**

 **giuliaguimaraes2002: Haha! Thank you! I don't think I've ever had anyone comment from Brazil! Thanks you!**

 **Please review, guys.**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	39. I Am Not A Crook

"Football." Melanie stood next to Shawn as he read the list of club options to Cory, and looked over his shoulder to see the list. A frown etched itself upon Melanie's face as she saw the possible options in front of her. Nothing really seemed that enticing for her to join.

"No, no." Cory immediately shook his head and winced as he thought of everything that could go wrong if he joined the football club, "Pain. Cleats on face."

"Modern dance." Shawn tried again as he gave Cory a smirk.

"No. A lot of girls, tights, no."

"I bet you would do it if Topanga was going to," Melanie teased, before she busted out laughing as a bright red blush covered Cory's face.

"Drama club."

"No. A lot of guys, tights, no."

"That's the list, Cor," Shawn said with a sigh as he handed Cory the list. Melanie quickly peered over Cory's shoulder as she tried to find _at least_ one club that she would like. Scanning the list over one last time, Melanie came to a semi-agreement with herself that she would choose the Drama club, but only if Topanga would do it with her. If it was only a bunch of guys, she did not want to be the only girl in that club.

"None of these are me, guys." Cory sulked as he looked over the list, "Here I am going into my eighth year of public education, and who am I really?"

"You're you," Shawn said as he gave a shrug, not understanding why Cory was acting so worried, "You're Cory Matthews."

"Yeah, but there's no Cory Matthew's club on here." Melanie's eyebrows raised. She had no doubt in her mind that her boys were growing up, but she didn't realize the extent of how quickly they were growing up. Sure, she had noticed that their voices were cracking and she'd admit that she had laughed when Shawn voice cracked as he was trying to ask Bridget Jones out, but she passed that off as puberty. Normally, Cory wouldn't really care about a club and he would be all fine and dandy, picking whatever he liked. Now, he was personally thinking about himself and who he was and realizing that he couldn't force himself into a club anymore. Melanie wiped away a fake tear, truly realizing that the three of them wouldn't be kids anymore. "There's no club for ordinary guys who don't know who they are and aren't great at anything."

"Then start one." Shawn stated.

"Ugh," Cory groaned as he slumped his shoulders and thought about it, "I probably wouldn't get in."

The ringing of the bell pulled Cory out of his daze and Melanie turned, walking backwards towards her locker.

"Come on, Cor," Melanie tried to cheer him up, "You have a lot of _really_ great qualities. You're brave, compassionate, and funny."

"Yeah," Shawn added with a nod, "And you're kind, loyal, and decent."

"Housebroken too," Cory added sullenly before walking towards Mr. Turner's class, "I'm a stinkin' beagle."

Sharing a look with Shawn, Melanie followed Cory and headed into Mr. Turner's room before quickly sitting in her seat, wincing as she watched Cory slam into his own desk. Melanie couldn't understand why Cory was acting like this. Did something happen at home? It was just so out of the blue that she didn't know what caused his sudden change in emotions. Freezing, Melanie figured out the answer, _hormones._

"Alright, people, this is just off the wire." Mr. Turner announced as soon as his class sat in their seats, "Elections for the eighth-grade president will be held next week."

"Who cares," Cory 'sneezed', causing the class to laugh.

"Detention." Mr. Turner mimicked.

"Sorry."

"How many people whine and moan around here? Well this is a chance to get involved. But remember, this is a student election." Mr. Turner quickly reminded and Melanie rolled her eyes with the rest of the class.

"It's not a popularity contest," Melanie recited with the rest of the class and turned to look at Shawn, who made a face at her, causing her to giggle.

"You know, I think we've been spendin' a little too much time together," Mr. Turner joked before continuing, "The point is, your class president doesn't need to be the quarter-back or a cheerleader. Your much better off with someone who is honest, loyal, and decent."

"Cory, that's you!" Shawn hissed and Melanie looked over at them, "You wanted to know who you were, you could be president!"

"Come on." Cory scoffed before turning to face the board.

"Alright, let's have some nominations." Mr. Turner turned away from the board to look at his class, and Melanie leaned over and poked Cory's shoulder, giving him a 'raise-your-hand' look.

"I've got somebody good. I nominate me," This kid in her class said and Melanie looked at him, unimpressed.

"Your humility is impressing me, but somebody else has to nominate you." Mr. Turner stated as he stared at the kid, unimpressed and a bit annoyed.

"Topanga, how bout it?" The kid asked and Melanie's eyes narrowed as she noticed that Topanga tried to shrivel away from the kid's gaze.

"No. Go away. And don't look at me."

"What about you, Melanie?" Melanie blinked at the kid, her face blank.

"I don't even know your name." The kid seemed to deflate at her answer and Melanie turned her attention back to the board.

"Come on, Meece," _So his name is Meece,_ Melanie thought before frowning, _or maybe that's his last name._ , "has the guts to run. So we should have the guts to at least nominate him."

"Alright, big deal. I'll nominate him." Cory stated as he raised his hands and Melanie glared at him.

"What are you doing? That's your competition." Shawn hissed.

"I'm not running." Cory said as he gave Melanie and Shawn a look of disbelief.

"Anybody else?" Mr. Turner asked, and before anyone one could stop her, Melanie shot out of her chair.

"I nominate Cory Matthews." Melanie announced and not a second later, Shawn and Cory were both standing up next to her.

"NO!" Cory shouted as he looked at Melanie in disbelief.

"No, he's not going to settle for second great leader ship." Shawn quickly jumped in and Melanie secretly gave him a high-five.

"Matthews, you've been nominated. Do you accept?"

"No way."

"No way would he turn down his chance to serve his fellow students." Shawn said with a smile and Melanie nodded, convincingly.

"What are you? His handler?" Mr. Turner asked as he stared at the two kids standing next to Cory.

"Yes, I am." Shawn agreed and Cory gave a sigh as he looked at Mr. Turner.

"No, he's not. Look, I don't know anything about being president. Okay, I would have a clue. I'm not somebody special," Melanie quietly snuck back to her seat as Cory approached the front of the classroom, turning to look at all the kids in the room, "I'm just an average guy, like all of you. The simple hardworking…" Melanie tilted her head as Cory's voice faded before he spoke again, his voice holding more power, "Students struggle day after day with two much homework, unfair teacher, and an antecedent justice system that runs on detention. And if elected, if I win and you guys vote for me, I would say to each and every one of you," Melanie watched Cory in awe as he grabbed the American flag in the class room, "'Hey, thanks!'"

~8~

"You got something, man." Shawn said as he walked next to Cory, Melanie by his side, "You could really win this."

"Yeah, but Shawn, there are four-hundred kids in our grade and I don't even know most of them." Cory stated as the three headed out of Mr. Turner's room and stood in the hallway.

"That's why we have to take you message from the lunchrooms to the bathrooms. From the halls to the stalls. We have to tell everybody who you are!" Melanie raised her eyebrows at Shawn's plan.

"But I'm not anybody." Cory said as he gave Shawn a confused look.

"Say it again!" Shawn cheered.

"I'm not anybody."

"That's what they like." Shawn finally pointed out, "You're not some handsome, smart, popular guy." Melanie and Cory shared a look as Shawn continued to roast Cory, "You're not cool. You're not even halfway-"

"Hey," Cory finally interrupted, holding his hand up, "I got it. Thank you. You're on my side, right?"

"There is no other side," Melanie frowned at how dark Shawn's voice was. "I'm going to put together a campaign like this school's never seen. An unstoppable tidal wave, gathering snow, blazing through the sky, crushing everything in its beak."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Melanie asked as she tilted her head and looked at Shawn.

"I gotta say, I am."

~8~

Melanie nearly fell off Topanga's bed because she was laughing too hard. She hadn't been able to go to school for the past few days because Stephanie got sick and, well, the babysitter refused to come over if Stephanie was sick, which was totally stupid. Melanie's parents had hired Erica so that she would take care of Stephanie and allow Melanie to be able to go to school with having to worry about Stephanie, but now, it was like Melanie was babysitting Erica.

"So you're telling me that after all that, you won." Melanie giggled as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"Yeah," Topanga nodded as she took a bite of the if cream in front of her, "You should have seen Cory's face. He totally wasn't expecting it."

"I wasn't either! I didn't know you wanted to run." Melanie grumbled as she, too, took a bite of ice cream, "I would have helped you campaign. Cory and Shawn didn't really need my help for Cory's campaign. It would have been so much fun. I could've made buttons!"

Topanga only laughed in response before looking over at the crib where Stephanie was sleeping, "So how is she?"

"Much better," Melanie sighed, "Her fever's finally gone down and she didn't throw up anything I fed her."

"That's great!"

"Yeah, I can finally go back to school."

* * *

 **Kittkatty: Thank you! And you're correct! that sneak peak was from Home for the Holidays. I am thinking of making a poll, but there are now a few more options and I'm trying to narrow them down before I create a poll. Thank you for the actress recommendation. She definitely does have some features that I imagine Melanie having.**

 **narelclollie: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Guest (Pippythewriter): Thank you! Melanie's parents will definitely be coming into the story more. They have a very important role.**

 **Guest (dessi): Thank you!**

 **bwatuwant: Thank you for your review! I am really glad you told me your opinions and I will take them into consideration as I continue to write this story. I, too, don't think that GMW is as good as BMW. I really like your idea of Shawn and Melanie having a little boy together. Thank you so much!**

 **Thank you for the reviews!**

 **Please review! I really enjoy hearing from you guys.**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	40. Breaking Up Is Really Hard To Do

"Stephanie and Todd invite you to a dinner party at Todd's place. Couples only. Shawn, Mel that's discrimination!" Cory exclaimed as he stared down at the invitation in from of him. Melanie rolled her eyes as she took a sip of her soda. Cory had been really sensitive about the idea of couples lately and it was really bothering Melanie. At least he had had a girlfriend. "It leaves out a lot of people who have committed themselves to a single life. People like you, me, and Mel."

As Cory pointed to Shawn, Melanie frowned as she felt her heart grow heavy at the sight of Shawn making out with another girl. She tried to hide her frown behind her straw as she took a sip, but she couldn't help slump her shoulders. Ever since Shawn had entered high school he had become and instant 'chick magnet'. Sure, he had great hair and a great personality-and maybe Melanie liked him a little more than a friend should- but she felt that she rarely spent time with him because he was so busy sucking the faces off girls.

"Huh?" Shawn said as he pulled away from the girl and looked at Cory, who looked completely befuddled.

"People like me and Mel." Cory corrected and quickly dodged a fry that Melanie had thrown his way.

Shawn sighed happily as he took a quick glance at the girl next to him, "Remember in health class, that section on the movement of blood? I understand it now."

"Fine," Cory groaned as he sat in his seat next to Mel, "Bail on your best friends."

"Cory, just ask a girl and you can go too." Shawn said, exasperated at his friend's constant buzz kill. At least Melanie didn't bother him when he was with his girls.

"We can always go together, Cor." Melanie stated as she took another sip of her drink.

"No thanks, Mel." Cory said as he uncomfortably shifted away from her, "That would be like taking Morgan with me."

"Wow," Melanie grumbled, "Thanks for the compliment. It's not like I want to go too."

"Look," Shawn finally interrupted, looking between his two friends, not sure how he felt about Melanie asking Cory to the party, "there's Wendy. You know her, you like her. Ask her to be your girlfriend."

"Just for the party?" Cory scoffed and shook his head, "That's not right."

"It is right. You're supposed to do that." Shawn insisted as he gave Cory a knowing look. Melanie mentally rolled her eyes. Of course he would know, he's done this thousands of times. "You're thinking too much."

Melanie groaned as she watched Cory go and ask Wendy out just to be his date for the dance. Slipping off her seat, Melanie grabbed her bag and picked her homework off the table. She didn't want to be around two boys who used girls, no matter how close friends they were.

"Hey," Shawn stopped her as she shoved the last of her homework in her bag, "Where are you going."

"Oh," Melanie paused and pulled her hair free of her backpack straps, "I have to meet Topanga for some help with homework."

"I can help you," Shawn insisted, not wanting Melanie to leave just yet. He had rarely seen his closest friend and he wanted to spend some time with her.

"Sure, you can." Melanie said sarcastically as she gave a light giggle, "Bye, Shawn."

She left before Shawn had a chance to say goodbye, completely missing the sad look that donned his face as she walked out of the restaurant.

~8~

Melanie sat on Topanga's desk as she talked to her. She had been telling Shawn the truth when she said that she would be heading to Topanga's house, they just didn't do homework. She had finished that while they had been at the restaurant and while Cory was lamenting over his sad, single life. The two of them had settled on watching a horror movie, much to Melanie's distaste, and they both didn't get that much sleep that night. Stephanie's cries were constantly scaring them to death.

"Look at them," Melanie said, her voice filled with disgust as she stared at Cory and Shawn, "Wooing every poor maiden that comes into view."

Topanga turned her head to stare at the two boys Melanie was talking about and frowned, "I agree."

"Those poor, unsuspecting victims think that they're going to get love and instead they get heartbreak and pain."

Topanga gave a hum of agreement as she watched one of the girl's in her class walked towards Cory and Shawn, "This is why I suggested keeping men locked underground."

"I'll totally help you with that plan." Melanie agreed, annoyed at the constant flirting from the two. Seriously though, Cory had already gotten a date and if he kept _flirting_ with this one, she'd have to come in and fix the mess… again.

~8~

"Okay, everybody." Mr. Turner said as he closed the classroom door, "Do I have everybody's poems on my desk here?" He quickly grabbed the last poem from a student before picking them all up, "I thought what we'd do is read a few of them and then discuss them."

"Okay, the first one up is Shawn Hunter," Mr. Turner said as he sat on his desk, "And his called _Welfare_. Okay. You want me to read this out loud, or just forward it to the guidance counselor."

"Read it." Shawn insisted, quickly glancing at Melanie, "It's some of my best work."

"My Uncle Ralph, he does not care, cause twice a month he gets welfare. My Uncle Chuck has nylon hair, he bought the rug with his welfare. Old Corvair, long nose hair, electric chair." Mr. Turner paused, "That's a very colorful family you got there, Shawn."

"I didn't use their real names. That's okay, right?" Shawn checked and Melanie had to stiff a giggle.

"Oh, yeah." Mr. Turner nodded as he flipped the paper, "The less I know, the better."

"Here's one written by Wendy Jansen." Mr. Turner said as he looked at his class, "It's called, _Leave me and I'll die._ " Melanie turned to Topanga and the two shared a horrified look, "Love is a flower that blooms in the sun, our love runs deeper than a deep river runs. Our love is so strong that it makes me cry 'Leave me and I'll die, I will die, die, die'."

"May I be excused." Wendy's meek voice suddenly asked and Melanie looked towards Cory, whose face was in his hands. She sighed deeply. She had tried to warn them in the past. Slowly, Cory stood up and made his way to the door.

"What's going on?" Mr. Turner asked, confused to why one of his students ran out crying and why the other was now standing.

"We both… had a lot of… ice tea at lunch…" Cory said as slowly shuffled out the door and into the hall. Melanie looked towards Shawn, who immediately avoided her gaze. She sighed once again, knowing that it had been Shawn's idea to break up with Wendy.

~8~

Melanie raced down the stairs next to Shawn as they spotted Cory sitting in a booth. A flurry of blonde rushed passed them and Melanie turned her head to see Wendy rushing past them and up the stairs. Frowning to herself, Melanie made her way over to where Cory was sitting and slid into the booth, trying to ignore Shawn's proud face as he congratulated Cory on his break-up.

"No, you go." Cory said and Melanie could immediately tell that her friend was suffering a rough episode of heartbreak.

"Why?" Shawn asked as the smile fell from his face and he looked at Cory, concerned.

"Because…" Cory shuffled around in his seat and stared at his socks, "I miss Wendy."

Reaching across the table, Melanie grasped one of Cory's hands in hers and looked him in the eye.

"You wanna come over to my house and watch a movie. I got a load of ice cream and I'm pretty sure some of it is your favorite."

Cory gave a soft nod as he stared down sadly at the hand holding his, realizing that Wendy may never again hold his hand.

* * *

 **Hi everyone!**

 **bwatuwant: Thank you for review! I have been debating on whether or not to continue this story and show how their relationship continues to grow. I completely adore the idea of Melanie and Shawn having a little boy! As for Maya being the daughter of Shawn and Melanie, I'm still not sure what exactly I'm going to do. I may make two separate stories where she isn't the daughter and one where she is, but I'm not sure.**

 **narcelcollie: Thank you! I'm trying to show the maturity of Melanie's character and I'm glad it's coming through.**

 **Do you guys think Melanie would make a good mom? Let me know.**

 **Please review! Reviews are highly appreciated!**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	41. Danger Boy

"Stephanie, stop it!" Melanie cried as her sister grasped her hair and gave it a sharp tug. Melanie had no idea why Stephanie was acting like this, all they were doing was getting ready to leave to head over to Topanga's house and when Melanie had thrown away Stephanie's binky, her sister had lost it. Stephanie's face was red from crying and fat tears rolled down her face.

Melanie let out a frustrated sigh and quickly shoved the rest of their clothes into a spare backpack that had taken on the role of being their suitcase. Stephanie had just turned three and she thought that it was time for her sister to grow out of using Binky's. Melanie's mother had specifically instructed her to limit Stephanie's use when she turned two, but Melanie decided that since her parents were never home, it would be okay to let Stephanie use it.

With an anguished cry, Stephanie threw herself onto the floor and started to kick her legs, screaming wildly. Running a hand down her face, Melanie pulled the backpack over her shoulders and grabbed Stephanie's stuffed animal before gently picking up the small child.

"Mr. Beary doesn't like seeing Stephanie sad," Melanie said as she dropped her voice a few octaves, "Will Stephanie please be a good girl and stop crying?" It took a few minutes, but Stephanie had settled down and was now tightly clutching the stuffed bear to her chest.

"Finally," Melanie muttered as she carried Stephanie down the stair and out the door, quickly locking it and giving it a tug to make sure it was locked. Stephanie's wispy, light blonde hair fluttered in the cool breeze and Melanie took a deep breath, enjoying the spring air.

Topanga's house was only a few houses down and since Melanie already had a key, she unlocked the door and entered the house.

"Pangy," Melanie called as she placed the backpack down, "I'm home!"

The thud of Topanga's footsteps echoed through the house and Melanie came face to face with her brown-haired friend.

"Rhiannon just finished cooking dinner. Let's go eat." With a swift tug on the wrist, Topanga led Melanie through the house and to the kitchen table. Melanie almost drooled at the sight of the feast in front of her. Chicken breasts, vegetables, and rolls.

Setting Stephanie in her seat, Melanie smiled at the family in front of her before they all dug in.

~8~

"And so, Harry Truman, the humble, little, sweater-vest wearing man from Missouri shocked everyone by bringing World War II to a swift and decisive end," Mr. Feeny lectured as he walked across the front of the classroom, "And then, by winning reelection even when the press had counted him out. Haha."

Melanie slammed her books shut as the bell ran, signaling the end of the block. Pulling her backpack on, she made her way over to Cory and Shawn who seemed to be in deep conversation. It was such a shame that Mr. Feeny didn't sit the three of them together. Sure, they sometimes got into trouble, but she always made sure that they did their work.

"And this is what I came up with," Melanie stood next to Cory as they both waited for Shawn's big reveal. _Huh,_ Melanie thought as she shrugged her shoulders, _So now he's thinking._ Next thing you know, he'd be telling her that he liked her, "Oh man, I had it a second ago."

"You're sorry for not telling me you were going on a double date?" Cory said and Melanie looked between the two, confused. Who was what now?

"That's it!" Shawn exclaimed.

"But, Shawn, it's not your fault." Cory said as he smiled at his friend, "Because probably figured that Eric asked me first."

Melanie froze as Cory's words registered through her brain. Oh. _Oh._ She lightly rolled her eyes as she looked at her friends. She leaves them alone for two days and they get into this mess. _Men._

"That's it too." Shawn smiled, "So, you're not mad at me?"

"No."

"So, you're mad at Eric?"

"No, I'm mad at anyone." Cory shrugged, "See, everyone did exactly what they're supposed to do. I mean, you guys went out with cool girls from New York and I stayed at home and played _Candyland_ with my sister. And lost. That's who I am, Shawn. I'm a Candyland Loser."

"Cory, don't be like that." Melanie said as she softly smiled at her friend, "We all have our strengths in different areas, along with our weaknesses. It all depends on how we use them and what we do with them."

"You're not a loser." Shawn added, "And I don't want you thinking about yourself that way. What did you do after _Candyland_?"

"Me and Morgan colored."

"I can't see you like this."

"Shawn," Melanie hissed as Shawn walked away.

"I mean, I stayed in the lines and all." Cory smiled as he put his papers into his bag, "Mom even put mine onto the fridge."

"Talk to him, man." Shawn said to Mr. Feeny before he left the classroom.

Melanie stood glancing at the door and Cory as she wandered what to do. She would be late to her next class if she stayed, but she wanted to make sure Cory was alright.

"It's alright, Miss. Strong." Mr. Feeny called and Melanie looked at him, "I'll take it from here."

With a nod, Melanie casted one last glance at her friend before she walked out of the classroom and down the hall.


	42. On The Air

_Good morning, John Adams High._

 _After a ten-year absence, we've dusted off the console and put Patriot Radio back on the air!_

The sound of pigs snorting echoed through the school.

 _Wrong button._

 _I should say so. And with me here, my engineer and wacky side-kick on the morning zoo, Mr. Alvin Meese._

 _Thank you, Mr. Feeny. You're a great friend to radio._

 _That's enough, Alvin. Nobody likes a mike hog. And now, because the halls of our school beat with the lively heart of contemporary youth, here is the sounds of Mr. Michael Bolton._

Melanie pressed harshly against the sides of her head, trying to block out as much noise as possible. As much as she loved music and listening to it, she couldn't stand orchestra music. She didn't know why, but she thought it was because her parents used to play it to try and cancel out the sounds of Stephanie's crying when she was a baby. Melanie scrunched up her noise as she watched Shawn try to cut the wire to the radio with a plastic spoon, knowing that it wasn't going to work but hoping silently that it would.

"Ah! Make it stop! Make it stop!" Cory shouted as he squeezed his eyes shut and pressed this hands to his ears, trying his best to cancel out the noise.

"It's hard to cut the wires with a plastic spoon." Shawn retorted and Melanie barked out a laugh, watching as Shawn frantically sawed the wire.

"Just rip it down!" Cory exclaimed as he furrowed his brows, none of them sensing the teacher that was creeping up behind them. Mr. Turner raised his brows as he stared at the three students in front of him, worrying that they really thought a plastic spoon would cut the wire.

"Hey, guys." Mr. Turner lifted the plastic knife from his tray and held it out to Shawn, "Try this knife."

Blindly reaching around, Shawn grasped the knife and Melanie felt her eyes widen as she realized who stood behind her. Gasping, the three of them turned around and gasped as they pointed an accusing finger to Mr. Turner.

"Down," Mr. Turner said and Shawn sullenly climbed down from the chair he was standing on before the three of them followed Mr. Turner to the table he sat at, "Come on, guys. The station's only been on five minutes. Is it really that bad?"

 _And now, a little change in pace. A blast from my past, this is Mr. Perry Como._

Melanie shuddered as Mr. Feeny played another orchestral piece. Melanie scrunched her nose in disappointment when Mr. Feeny didn't put on rock music, heck, she would be happy if he put on some jazz band.

"Look, Mr. Turner, you clip the wires and we'll cover for you." Cory said and Melanie nodded in agreement as Mr. Turner raised his eyebrows.

"I promise that we won't bail on you." Melanie held up her hand, "Scout's honor."

Shawn nudged her side, "You're not even a scout."

"Oh, hush." Melanie said as she gently elbowed his side and turned her attention back to Mr. Turner, who looked exasperated.

"You don't like what you hear? Get on the air and do better."

"Us?" Shawn stated in disbelief as the stood around Mr. Turner, "On the radio?"

"Yeah," Mr. Turner nodded and looked at the group. He knew they could do it; probably not well, but they could do it, "See if you can't squeeze it in between doing nothing at school, and nothing at home."

"What are you saying? We don't do anything?" Shawn asked as he looked at Mr. Turner, mildly offended. Melanie, on the other hand, lightly tilted her head in thought, silently agreeing with Mr. Turner. She really didn't do anything at home except for take care of Stephanie.

"You know," Cory said deep in thought, "We should think about that."

"I don't wanna." Shawn said and Melanie couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay then, I'll do the thinking for you." Melanie said and Shawn looked at her hopefully, pleased at the thought of not having to think, "If we become the radio personalities, then we can pick the music."

"And maybe we'd have personalities." Cory added, staring off into the distance hopefully.

"I don't wanna do nothing."

"No-Shawn-look," Melanie sighed and tucked a piece of hair behind her ears, "You don't have to do anything."

"Yeah," Cory agreed, "Radio is just sitting around talking."

"Like we are now?"

"Yeah. Maybe you'd have to push a button." Cory said and Shawn slowly nodded as he stared at the floor, thinking. He knew that it would make Melanie happy if he did it, but he just didn't want to… do it.

"How hard?" Shawn asked and Cory and Melanie shared a look.

"Like this." Melanie pretended to lightly push a button and Cory and Shawn followed her lead, testing out how hard to push the button.

"Are you kidding me!" Mr. Turner exclaimed as he watched his students pretend to hit a pretend button.

"Ok, we'll do it." Cory finally announced and Melanie smiled happily.

"We're naturals." Shawn agreed and he couldn't help but smile at the sight of how happy Melanie looked. Sure, he really didn't want to do it, but if he did it meant that he could spend more time with her and recently it felt like it had been a few months since the two of them had spent time together.

"I've got a radio voice." Cory said as he lowered his voice.

"And I've got a radio face." Shawn said as he rubbed his hands together anxiously. Melanie looked at him with a raised eyebrow and bit her lip, nodding slowly as she tried to understand what he said.

"Shawn, you know that it's a radio and you don't see…" Noticing that he wasn't listening to her, Melanie just nodded and looked back at Mr. Turner, "Okay then…"

"So when can you get us on the air?" Shawn asked anxiously as he stared at Mr. Turner, hoping he would say soon.

"If you guys are serious about this, I'll talk to Feeny after lunch."

 _And now for you kiddos, Menudo._

As the Latin pop music filled the air, Cory, Shawn, and Melanie looked at Mr. Turner and he sighed, pushing his lunch away, "I'll talk to him now."

~8~

"Hi, I'm Cory Matthews, along with Shawn Hunter and Melanie Strong, and we're back with the most interesting show topic they would give us: Meet your student council." Melanie slumped in her seat as Cory spoke through the microphone and glared at Mr. Turner through the window. She had really been hoping that they would be able to play some music or something. "Our guest today is Sara Fairburn, secretary treasurer of your student counsel. And according to Mr. Feeny's program, we'll be discussing the cancellation of the ninth-grade spring dance. Now, Sara, I imagine there's quite a story here."

"No," Sara smiled as she leaned in towards the mike, "We just ran out of money."

"Uh-huh," Cory said as he encouraged her to continue. Melanie groaned and slumped forward, resting her head on Shawn's shoulder. This was really not what she was expecting.

"So, we're gonna have a bake sale and try and save our dance."

Melanie cringed as the rest of the conversation continued. Cory was making this painfully awkward and she sighed when nobody called in with any questions. When someone did call, Melanie nearly laughed aloud and left when it turned out to be for another show. However, things did get interesting when someone called Sara to ask her out. Melanie couldn't but swoon. She thought that that was so cute.

"Oh, another call." Cory hit the button, "Hello?"

"Hi, this is Jared Austin."

"Are you calling a question in for Sara?" Cory asked and the next words made Melanie's heart pound with excitement.

"No, I'm calling for Melanie."

"Oh," Shawn and Cory shared a look as Melanie grabbed the mike and slowly spoke.

"Hello?"

"Hey, uh, Melanie?"

"Yes?" Melanie looked over at Sara who seemed to be jumping with excitement in her seat.

"I was, uh, wondering if you wanted to go to the dance with me?"

Melanie's heart raced in her chest. She knew who Jared was, they had Biology together. He was a cute boy. He had shaggy brown hair and light brown eyes. He was taller than her and was on the basketball team (a sport she didn't really understand). Plus, he was extremely nice and she never saw him flirting with every girl her saw (unlike someone she knew

"Uh, sure." She could hear the cheers from the cafeteria.

Unbeknownst to her, a certain someone's face had gone pale from the little exchange. That someone had really been hoping that she would say no because that certain may or may not have feelings for her.

"Hey," Melanie said as she turned around and looked at Shawn, noticing that he had went pale, "Are you okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah." Shawn brushed her off and Melanie couldn't help but notice that his voice was in a higher pitch than before.

"Okay…" Looking at her watch, Melanie jumped, "Oh, crap! I gotta go! See you guys later. Good luck!"

Melanie quickly walked down the halls, silently cursing herself for forgetting that she had to make up a test.

~8~

Topanga laughed as Melanie explained the whole situation to her. Melanie missed hanging out with Topanga and the two girls thought it was hilarious that Shawn and Cory actually used something they learned in school to their advantage.

"Girls, dinner's ready!" Topanga and Melanie jumped and smiled at each other before racing down the stairs.

* * *

 **HI! It feels so good to be back! The next chapter is shorter because it was hard to find a way to add Melanie in, but I hope you like it. Thank you for being patient.**

 **Guest (Pippythewriter): It's okay! I hope that things have calmed down for you and you're okay. The sneak peak will be coming up, I just need to update all my stories and Chapter 19 should probably have it. Sorry it has taken so long.**

 **Guest (Aubrey): Thank you! First off, I really like your name, but yeah! That's why we have Jared now. We need some angst in this story, am I right?**

 **narelclollie: Thank you! And, yeah, Shawn is pretty clueless.**

 **emily88034: Thank you! I'm so glad that the development is slow because that's what I was really hoping for.**

 **kitty12309: I got your review but I can't seem to read the whole thing, but from what I've read... well, we'll just have to see~**

 **Guest: I'm here! I'm sorry it took so long. Thank you for your comment though, it lowkey motivated me to publish this.**

 **panda bunny 2.0: Yeah!**

 **Please review! All reviews and constructive criticism is welcome! Also, don't be afraid to PM me if you have any ideas or questions. Every idea or question is important to me! I promise you aren't bothering me!**

 **See you soon,**

 **Ana**


	43. By Hook or By Crook

"Where's Cory?" Topanga asked as she approached Shawn and Melanie.

"Oh, didn't you hear? He's out sick." Shawn said as he looked at Topanga, "He's real sick. He's got something bad."

"How bad?" Topanga asked and Melanie could see the worry brewing in her eyes. Melanie gave Shawn a look which he ignored. He actually didn't know how sick Cory was.

"Hey, today's film-strip day in Sex Ed and he's not here."

"Oh, dear." Topanga said before the three of them made their way to their seats just as the bell rang.

"All right, everybody, here's your test scores." Melanie raised her eyebrows as Mr. Turner pulled out two bottles instead of papers, "Oh, no. Oh, no. Your test scores are going to be delayed for a while, until I can track down the lay on the bus with the screaming twins- who now has my bag."

"You took the bus?" Melanie asked, remembering seeing Mr. Turner on a motorcycle and knowing that he owned one, "What happened to your motorcycle?"

"Days couldn't start any better than this." Mr. Turner stated before he started his story, "Some guy misjudges the width of the, oh, I don't know, the whole street, and runs over my bike. And then he decided what he really needed to do now is back up."

"Oh, Mr. Turner, you love that bike." Topanga sadly said as a frown crossed her face.

"Hey, out of respect, let's end this class right now and let the man have some time alone with his feelings." Shawn said as he stood up and everyone started to pack up.

"Oh, no, no, no, sit down." Mr. Turner softly said and the class slowly settled down, "I need to be around people."

"So, are you going to get it fixed?" Topanga asked and Melanie nodded in agreement, wondering the same thing.

"Oh, yeah." Mr. Turner's voice was heavily laced with sarcasm, "With my enormous teacher salary, I can get that bike fixed. And with the money I have left over. Ha! I can buy licorice."

"Here's what I got for you- two words." Shawn said and Melanie looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Uncle Mike's." Mr. Turner stared at Shawn blankly and Shawn sighed, "I'm gonna need more words. Uncle Mike's Motorcycle Repair Shop."

"Your Uncle Mike's?" Mr. Turner asked.

"Just thought I'd mention it." Shawn said with a shrug as he walked up to Mr. Turner, "You can think about it tomorrow on the bus. I'll just be leaving a business card."

"Lucky Leo's Bail Bonds and Prosthetics. One way or another, we get you on your feet."

"Sorry, wrong uncle."

"Mmmhmm."

~8~

"You didn't!" Melanie squealed as she clutched Stephanie tighter in her lap. Topanga had just come home and told her that she had went to go check on Cory to see how he was feeling. Swoon, "That's so cute!"

"Shut up!" Topanga hissed, but the blush on her face was enough evidence for Melanie who just grinned.

"I can see it now: Mrs. Topanga Matthews. Married to Cory and living in a nice house with two kids- a boy and a girl."

Melanie laughed and dodged Topanga as she tried to lightly hit her with a pillow, her face a bright red. Stephanie thinking it was a game, shrieked with joy and reached forward to grab the pillow, smiling when Topanga let her take it.

"I bet the girl will be the oldest." Melanie teased and she laughed as Topanga's glare intensified. Melanie did think it was true though, if Cory and Topanga did get married, she was betting money that they would be having a girl first.

Leaning against the headrest of Topanga's bed, Melanie put Stephanie down and let her roam around the floor. She was so happy that she was going to be staying at Topanga's for three weeks while her parents took a vacation around Italy. Melanie thought it was disgusting that her parents used her money so freely and didn't save it. They should be putting it in her college savings or something. Melanie sighed and closed her eyes, hoping that her parents knew what they were doing.


	44. So It's Been A While

**Hey,**

 **So it's been a while and you all deserve some answers.**

 **Basically, school's been my number one priority for these past months and will continue to be my number one priority.**

 **However, I am glad to now announce that I will be coming back to writing, slowly but surely, and that I will be only focusing on one story at a time.**

 **Here's the order that the updates will go:**

1\. Peaky Blinders: The Devil and The Daughter

2\. Downton Abbey: Will You Catch Me When I Fall

3\. Outlander: Please Don't Let Go

4\. Merlin: I'll Try, I Promise

5\. The Middle: Stuck In The Middle

6\. Boy Meets World: Melanie Meets World

7\. The Walking Dead: The Parting Glass

 **Thank you for all being so patient and so kind!**


	45. Tumblr!

**One last thing,**

 **I'm having trouble getting pictures and links to work, so, I have created a tumblr where I will be answering any questions you may have and where I will be posting pictures of the characters from the stories so you guys have a visual!**

 **The username is: Anasatsia98**


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